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Historical  Sketches 


OF  THE 


ROMER,  VAN  TASSEL  AND 
ALLIED  FAMILIES 


AND 


TALES   OF   THE  NEUTRAL 

GROUND 


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Copyright    1917 

BY 

John  Lockwood  Romer. 


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PREFACE 

The  editor  and  compiler  of  this  volume  desires  to  express 
his  acknowledgment  and  appreciation  of  the  courtesy  of 
the  writers  and  publishers  whose  kind  permission  to 
reproduce  the  several  articles  credited  to  them  respectively 
has  made  it  possible  for  him  to  gather  into  one  sheaf  the 
fragmentary  legends  and  traditions  and  bits  of  family  history 
relating  to  the  Romer  and  Van  Tassel  families  of  West- 
chester County,  which  have  hitherto  appeared  in  print. 

Miss  Sarah  Comstock's  article,  so  much  of  which  as  is  of 
family  interest,  published  herein  under  the  title  "A  Visit 
to  Elmsford,"  appeared  originally  in  the  New  York  Times, 
some  of  it  being  later  incorporated  in  her  "Old  Roads  from 
the  Heart  of  New  York,"  published  by  G.  P.  Putnam's 
Sons.  Its  appearance  here  is  by  consent  of  the  author  and 
publishers. 

Mrs.  B.  H.  Dean's  sketch,  "A  Bit  of  the  Neutral  Ground," 
first  appeared  in  the  New  York  Central  Lines'  Four  Track 
News,  which  has  kindly  permitted  its  reproduction. 

"How  One  Hundred  and  Fifty  Dollars  Will  Save  Pa- 
triots' Graves"  was  first  published  in  the  New  York  Evening 
Post,  September  16,  1911,  and  that  journal  consents  to  its 
publication  here. 

The  New  York  Tribune  likewise  consents  to  the  repro- 
duction of  an  article  entitled,  "He  Aided  Andre's  Captors," 
which  appeared  first  in  the  Tribune  of  July  6,  1896. 

So,  also,  the  Evening  Mail  gives  permission  to  republish 
the  story  "Where  John  Andre  Was  Captured,"  which  was 
first  published  in  the  Mail  and  Express,  October  12,  1895. 

The  American  Magazine,  having  succeeded  to  Frank 
Leslie's  Monthly,  kindly  permits  the  reproduction  of 
"Heroes  of  the  Neutral  Ground,"  which  originally  appeared 
in  the  Monthly  in  July,  1897. 


PREFACE 


And  the  Tarrytozvn  Argus  also  consents  to  the  republica- 
tion of  an  article  entitled  "The  Romer  Family,"  written  by 
Reverend  John  B.  Thompson,  D.D.,  appearing  originally  in 
the  Argus,  March  9,  1907. 

The  "Minutes  of  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Colony  of 
New  York,"  "Sketches  of  Long  Island,"  "Early  Long 
Island,"  "History  of  East  Hampton"  and  the  "Souvenir 
of  Monument  Dedication  at  Tarrytown"  have  likewise 
furnished  Interesting  material  and  data  for  this  compilation. 

Many  of  the  articles  above  mentioned  were  inspired  by 
visits  which  their  writers  made  to  Colonel  John  C.  L. 
Hamilton,  of  Elmsford,  whose  delight  has  been  to  rescue 
from  oblivion  and  disseminate  the  traditional  lore  of  the 
Sawmill  River  Valley,  and  whose  kindly  assistance  in  the 
preparation  of  this  volume  is  likewise  acknowledged. 

It  has  seemed  fitting  to  me  that  the  historical  items  appear- 
ing in  this  volume  should  be  confided  to  the  safe-keeping  of 
something  more  permanent  and  certain  than  the  voice  of 
tradition,  and  so  this  collection  has  been  made  and  put  into 
type  in  the  hope  of  preserving  for  the  present  and  future 
descendants  of  Jacob  and  Frena,  of  Jan  Cornelius  and 
Catoneras,  of  John  and  Leah,  of  William  and  Ruth,  of 
Hector  and  Polly,  of  Luther  and  Minerva,  these  treasured 
stories  of  their  ancestors. 

The  editor  has  not  attempted  to  change  or  modernize  the 
spelling  or  style  of  writing  of  the  articles  and  records  used 
in  the  following  pages  as  the  gradual  changes  and  develop- 
ment of  names  and  customs  seem  very  interesting. 

John  Lockwood.  Romer.. 
Buffalo,  March,  1917. 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Preface  

The  Romer  Family  (by  Rev.  Dr.  Thompson)   1 

Captain  Jacob  Romer   

Captain  John  Romer  16 

He  Aided  Andre's  Captors   31 

Abraham  Martling   34 

Christina  Van  Wormer   Romer    36 

Jan  Cornelius  Van  Texell 38 

Petition  of  Cornelius  Van  Texel,  et  al,  1705 40 

Petition  of  Cornelius  Van  Texell,  et  al,  1713 41 

Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel  43 

Letter  of  General  Parsons  to  General  Tryon 48 

Reply  of  General  Tryon   49 

The  Storm  Family  52 

Sketches  from  Souvenir  Volume  — 54 

Statement  of  Lieutenant  Samuel  Youngs  54 

Statement  of  John  Dean 57 

The  Van  Tassel  Family  58 

The  Martling  Family    60 

Statement  of  John  Yerkes    C2 

Statement  of  Mrs.  Charity  Tompkins   63 

Descendants  of  Captain  John  Romer - 66 

Address  by  Rev.  Dr.  Ferguson  at  Funeral  of  Alexander  Romer  67 

Obituary  Notice,  decease  of  Caroline  Lockwood  Romer 68 

Obituary  Notice,  decease  of  Carrie   Romer   Windsor 69 

Obituary  Notice,  decease  of  Isaac  J.   Romer 69 

Where  John  Andre  was  Captured  72 

A  Visit  to  Elmsford  (by  Miss  Sarah  Comstock)    77 

A  Bit  of  the  Neutral  Ground  (by  Mrs.  B.  H.  Dean) 86 

Heroes  of  the  Neutral  Ground  (by  John  P.  Ritter)    90 

How  $150.00  Will  Save  Patriots'  Graves  102 

Col.  (Rev.)  Edgar  A.  Hamilton,  Reminiscences  109 

Col.  John  C.  L.  Hamilton,  Reminiscences  122 

Wyandance,  Grand  Sachem  of  Long  Island   12S 

Deed,  Wyandance  to  Lyon  Gardiner   129 

Court  Record,  Waiandanch,  Sachem,  versus  Jeremy  Daily  131 
Deed,    Sunk    Squa,    wife    of    Wiandanch,    Wiankombone, 

et  al,  to  Inhabitants  of  East  Hampton 134 


VII 


¥iii  CONTENTS 

The  Hawley  Family    137 

The  Taylor   Family    139 

In  Descent  from  Elder  William  Brewster  143 

A  Brief  Account  of  William  Taylor,  Jr 145 

Obituary,  decease  of  Hector  Taylor  147 

Obituary,  decease  of  Katherine  Taylor  Romer  148 

The  Carter  Family  149 


LIST   OF   ENGRAVINGS. 
Book  Plate. 

Old  Dutch  Church  at  Sleepy  Hollow Frontispiece 

Facing  Page 

Old    Bridge    at    Sleepy  Hollow,     Copy  of    Pen  Drawing  by 

Katherine   Taylor    Romer 1 

Monument  to  Captain  Jacob  Romer  and  wife  13 

Portrait  of  Captain  John  Romer   16 

Map  of  Locality  of  Andre's  Capture  23 

Romer- Van  Tassel  Homestead    27 

Tombstone  of  Captain  John  Romer  30 

Tombstone  of  Leah  Van  Tassel  Romer  31 

Farcus  Hott    (Place  of   Shelter) 47 

Tombstone  of  Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel  and  of  Eliza- 
beth Storm,  his  wife   53 

Coat  of  Arms  of  the  Storm  Family  52 

Tombstone  of  Cornelius  Romer,  son  of  Captain  John  Romer..  66 
Portraits    of   John    Romer   and    Christena    Graham,    son   and 

daughter  of  Captain  John  Romer   66 

Portraits   of   Alexander   Romer  and   Caroline   C.   Lockwood, 

his  wife    67 

Portrait  of  John  Lockwood  Romer  67 

Portrait  of  Katherine  Taylor  Romer 67 

Tombstone    of    Alexander    Romer    and    Caroline    Lockwood 

Romer    68 

Portrait  of  Carrie  Romer  Windsor 69 

Greenburgh  Churchyard   76 

Portrait  of  Col.   (Rev.)  Edgar  A.  Hamilton 109 

Portrait  of  Col.  John  C.  L.  Hamilton  122 

Coat  of  Arms  of  The  Taylor  Family  138 

Portrait  of  Virgil  Corydon  Taylor  139 

Portraits  of  Hector  Taylor  and  Polly  Carter,  bis  wife 144 

Portrait  of  Ann  Taylor  Foster  145 

Monument  of  John  Lockwood  Romer 148 


OLD  BRIDGE  AT  SLEEPY  HOLLOW 


COPY  OF  PEN  DRAWING 

BY 

KATHERINE  TAYLOR  ROMER 


THE  ROMER   FAMILY. 


By  John  B.  Thompson,  D.  D. 


At  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  and  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century  such  leaders  of  religious  thought  in 
Europe  as  Spener,  Francke,  and  others  like  them,  advised 
their  pious  adherents  to  seek  in  America  refuge  from  the 
persecutions  which  befell  them  in  their  native  lands.  Those 
who  followed  this  advice  wrote  back  such  glowing  accounts 
of  life  in  the  new  world  that  multitudes  followed  them  across 
the  ocean.  Land  companies  were  formed  to  facilitate  the 
movement.  Agents  received  a  bonus  of  four  pounds  for 
each  emigrant  secured  by  them.  Captains  of  vessels  brought 
out  hundreds  and  thousands,  who  had  no  money,  and,  there- 
fore, consented  to  be  sold  to  service  in  the  new  world.  From 
this  service  they  were  to  redeem  themselves  by  labor  for  a 
stipulated  period,  usually  from  three  to  five  years.  Such 
immigrants  were  known  as  "redemptioners."  The  furor 
of  immigration  from  Switzerland  was  so  great  that  the  civil 
authorities  in  successive  years  issued  more  than  a  dozen 
proclamations  warning  people  of  the  risks  they  thus  incurred 
— but  all  in  vain.  People  came  in  companies,  or  singly, 
with  little  or  no  thought  for  the  morrow.  Their  motives 
were  as  various  as  their  characters,  but  all  expected  to  be 
able  to  make  themselves  more  comfortable  than  they  had 
been  in  the  land  of  their  birth.  The  usual  route  of  travel 
from  Switzerland  was  down  the  Rhine  to  its  mouth  in  the 


2  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

Netherlands  where  passage  was  taken  for  the  British  colo- 
nies in  America.  Among  these  immigrants  from  one  of 
the  German-speaking  cantons  of  Switzerland  was  a  man 
named  Jacob  Romer,  though  the  Dutch  of  New  York  (which 
had  been  an  English  colony  for  many  years)  wrote  the 
name  variously  as  Roemer,  Romer,  Romen,  Rome,  Roome 
and  Roomer!  The  name  was  (and  still  is)  well  known  in 
Europe. 

Three-quarters  of  a  century  before,  the  Danish  astrono- 
mer, Ole  Roemer,  had  given  to  the  world  the  knowledge 
of  the  velocity  of  light  and  the  distance  of  the  earth  from 
the  sun.  John  James  Roemer  was  the  famous  Professor 
of  botany  after  whom  Linnaeus  named  the  genus  of  beau- 
tiful plants  still  called  "Romeria."  He,  too,  was  a  Ger- 
man-Swiss, and  was  a  contemporary  of  Jacob  Roemer, 
though  they  never  met.  The  Italian  name  "Romeo,"  desig- 
nates, primarily,  a  man  who  has  seen  Rome;  and  in  the 
more  northern  languages  the  name  "Roemer"  had  the  same 
signification.  In  all  the  Christian  ages  pilgrimages  to  Jeru- 
salem have  been  in  vogue;  but  during  the  middle  ages  pil- 
grimages to  Rome  were  even  more  common.  Skeat's  Anglo 
Saxon  Dictionary  informs  us  that  these  pilgrimages  were  so 
popular  even  in  England  that  it  came  to  be  generally  be- 
lieved that  this  was  the  origin  of  the  English  verb  "to  roam" ! 
In  those  days  "Ich  bin  ein  roemer"  was  almost  as  proud  a 
boast  in  religious  and  social  circles  as  it  had  been  in  the 
courts  of  kings  when  Paul  made  a  similar  boast  for  him- 
self. For  these  reasons  Roemer  became  a  family  name; 
and  the  great  number  of  these  pilgrimages  in  those  days 
accounts  for  the  prevalence  of  the  name  throughout  Europe. 
One  of  Jacob  Roemer's  ancestors  had  undoubtedly  been  on 
pilgrimage  to  Rome. 

Jacob  Roemer's  widow  told  Mrs.  Eliza  Ann  See  of  Tarry- 
town  that  before  he  became  her  lover  he  had  learned  the 
tailor's  trade,  and  that  her  parents  objected  to  their  mar- 
riage because  of  his  inferiority  in  wealth  and  position.  They 


THE    ROMER    FAMILY  3 

must  have  forgotten  their  own  origin,  for  their  family  name 
was  "Haarlager,"  which  can  hardly  mean  anything  else  than 
"hairdresser."  But  they  proved  inexorable,  and  Jacob's 
thoughts  turned,  not  unnaturally,  to  the  paradise  in  Amer- 
ica whither  so  many  of  his  friends  had  already  gone.  There 
were  several  of  the  same  name  already  in  New  York. 

His  sweetheart's  name  was  "Frena,"  a  name  derived 
(whether  she  knew  it  or  not)  from  the  ancient  goddess  who, 
her  ancestors  believed,  produced  the  bright  flowers  of  Spring 
and  loved  her  husband  so  dearly  that  when  separated  from 
him  she  wept  continually  and  her  tear  drops,  as  they  fell 
to  the  earth,  became  flakes  of  gold,  so  that  these  when  they 
were  found  were  known  as  "Freya's  tears." 

Frena  Haarlager  proved  herself  as  the  goddess  of  her 
forefathers.  She  would  not  be  separated  from  the  man  of 
her  choice.  Together  they  fled  from  home  to  seek  their  for- 
tune in  the  western  world.  By  the  time  they  reached  the 
coast  their  little  store  of  money  was  exhausted ;  but  they 
secured  their  passage  to  New  York  by  agreeing  to  allow 
themselves  to  be  sold  on  arrival  as  "redemptioners."  Com- 
ing from  so  small  a  country,  they  had  no  conception  of 
the  immense  distances  in  America.  Ignorant  of  both  the 
Dutch  and  English  languages,  almost  before  they  knew  it 
they  were  sold  to  different  masters  and  hurried  away  to 
their  respective  destinations,  neither  of  them  knowing 
whither  the  other  had  gone. 

Jacob  bore  the  name  of  the  patriarch  who,  in  a  strange 
land,  had  served  seven  years  for  Rachel,  *  *  *  and  they 
seemed  to  him  but  a  few  days  for  the  love  that  he  had  for 
her.  *  *  *  And  Jacob  Roemer  bore  patiently  his  shorter 
period  of  service  until  he  could  again  be  free  to  seek  his 
Frena  from  whom  he  had  been  so  unexpectedly  separated. 
He  had  faith  in  her  and  in  the  God  of  his  fathers  and,  true 
to  his  early  training,  when  he  had  learned  to  understand 
the  language  of  the  people  about  him,  connected  himself 
with  the  Reformed  Church  in  New  York. 


4  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

When  his  time  was  out  he  began  to  inquire  for  Frena. 
His  master  understood  that  she  had  been  sold  to  a  man 
somewhere  "up  the  river"  toward  Albany  and  with  only 
this  clew  he  began  his  search.  He  made  his  way  up  the 
river  as  far  as  Philipsburgh. 

In  this  place  was  living  at  that  time  a  man  named  Hendrick 
Roemer.  He  had  been  married  here  as  early  as  October  15, 
1743,  to  Marretje  Gardenier,  a  young  woman  from  the 
manor  of  Mr.  Van  Cortlandt.  After  her  death  he  had  mar- 
ried a  German-speaking  woman  from  Philadelphia,  named 
Catrina  Kortseborne.  His  children  were  baptized  here. 
Their  names  were: 

Deliefferins  (Deliverance),  baptized  November  10,  1744. 

Marretje,  baptized  April  19,  1746. 

Frena,  baptized  August  24,  1748.  (She  married,  May 
6,  1770,  Jan  Hemmen). 

Hendrick,  baptized  April  13,  1751. 

Jacob,  baptized  April  21,  1756. 

At  this  last  baptism  the  witnesses  were  Jacob  and  Frena 
Roemer,  who  were  then  living  at  Philipsburgh. 

But  I  anticipate !  Hendrick  Roemer  was  also  a  native  of 
Switzerland,  and  may  have  been  an  elder  brother  or  other 
relative  of  Jacob ;  but  on  this  point  we  have  no  evidence. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  reason,  Jacob  decided  to  make 
his  home  at  Philipsburgh  while  prosecuting  his  search  for 
Frena.  He  took  up  his  old  trade.  But  he  was  lonely.  He 
missed  the  mountains  of  his  native  land.  He  climbed  the 
highest  hill  in  the  vicinity,  known  then,  as  now,  Kykuit,  the 
"lookout  mountain"  of  the  region.  There  he  secured  a  little 
plot  of  ground  and  built  himself  a  hut.  The  precise  spot 
was  just  beyond  the  summit,  on  the  easterly  slope,  where 
bubbled  up  the  spring  from  which  issued  the  rivulet  that 
kept  green  the  grass  on  both  its  sides  for  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years  later.  The  description  given  by  Mrs.  See  en- 
ables me  to  recognize  the  location  without  difficulty. 


THE    ROMER    FAMILY 


Jacob's  piety  was  as  steadfast  as  his  industry  and  his  af- 
fection. He  brought  from  New  York  his  certificate  of 
church  membership  and  was  received  into  the  communion 
of  the  church  at  Philipslburgh,  June  17,  1753.  At  that 
time  the  post-rider  between  New  York  and  Albany  was 
Anthony  Post,  the  youngest  son  of  Jan  Jansen  Postmael.  He 
was  now  66  years  of  age;  but  the  journey  was  performed 
leisurely.  It  occupied  full  two  weeks,  the  rider  going  up 
on  one  side  of  the  river  and  coming  down  on  the  other. 

To  him  Jacob  appealed  for  help,  showing  the  seven  dol- 
lars which  he  had  saved,  and  agreeing  to  give  him  this  if 
he  would  find  Frena  and  bring  her  safe  to  Philipsburgh. 
Antony  accordingly  went  on  his  way,  inquiring  at  every  place 
at  which  he  stopped  to  change  the  mail  for  "one  Frena,"  as 
she  had  been  described  to  him.  Once  and  again  and  yet 
again  he  went  and  came  and  brought  no  tidings.  At  last, 
however,  he  reported  that  he  had  seen  a  man  who  thought 
he  recognized  the  description  as  that  of  a  woman  residing 
west  of  the  King's  Road  a  few  miles  from  Albany.  To  her 
the  stranger  would  make  his  report  and,  if  she  were  willing, 
bring  her  to  Albany  to  meet  Antony  upon  his  next  arrival 
there.  There  Antony  found  her,  and  she  rode  behind  him 
on  his  sturdy  steed  the  whole  hundred  miles  and  more  from 
Albany  to  Philipsburgh. 

"All's  well  that  ends  well,"  and  Jacob  Roemer  and  Frena 
Haarlager  were  married  at  Philipsburgh,  August  20,  1754. 
She  told  Mrs.  See  how  happily  they  lived  together,  though 
at  first  the  only  furniture  in  their  little  house  in  the  woods 
was  a  chest  which  contained  all  of  their  crockery  and  cook- 
ing utensils,  served  as  the  table  from  which  they  ate  their 
frugal  meals,  and  between  meals  also  as  a  tailor's  bench. 

In  those  days  the  church  at  Philipsburgh  had  no  regular 
pastor.  It  was  visited  three  or  four  times  a  year  by  minis- 
ters from  New  York  who  preached  the  Gospel,  adminis- 
tered the  sacraments,  and  examined  applicants  for  admis- 
sion to  church  privileges.    Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  Frena 


6  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

Haarlager,  wife  of  Jacob  Roemer,  was  not  received  into  the 
church  of  Philipsburgh  until  nearly  a  year  after  her  mar- 
riage, June  18,  1755,  the  day  after  the  baptism  of  her  first 
baby.  The  witnesses  at  the  baptism  were  Hendrick  Roemer 
and  his  wife,  Maretje  Gardenier,  of  whom  I  have  already 
spoken. 

Jacob  and  Frena  had  ten — and  probably  twelve — children. 

1.  The  first  was  Hendrick,  baptized  June  17,  1755.  He 
grew  up  and  married,  February  26,  1777,  Christina,  daugh- 
ter of  Ary  Van  Wormer  and  his  wife,  Annatje  Van  Tassel, 
whose  ancestors  had  come  from  the  island  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Rhine,  known  as  "the  Tessel"  or  "Texel." 

2.  The  second  child  of  Jacob  and  Frena  Romer  was 
Elizabeth,  baptized  March  3,  1757. 

3.  The  third  was  Frena,  baptized  September  13,  1760. 
In  the  year  1784,  she  married  Abraham  Martelings. 

4.  The  fourth  child,  Catrina,  was  baptized  April  30, 1763. 

5.  The  fifth  was  named  after  his  father,  Jacob.  He  was 
baptized  November  4,  1764.  In  due  season  he  married  a 
woman  named  Annatje,  and  their  daughter  Catrina  (who 
was  born  July  8,  1791)  was  baptized  December  4  in  that 
year. 

6.  The  sixth  child  of  Jacob  and  Frena  was  Johannes, 
baptized  near  the  end  of  December,  1767.  In  Bolton's  His- 
tory of  Westchester  County,  he  is  called  "Captain  John  of 
Greenburgh."  He  married  Leah,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Van 
Tassel  and  his  wife  Elizabeth  Storms. 

7.  The  seventh  child,  Mareitje,  was  baptized  September 
2,  1769. 

8.  The  eighth,  Annatje,  was  baptized  May  9, 1772. 

9.  The  ninth,  Sarah,  was  baptized  November  16,  1773. 


THE   ROMER   FAMILY  7 

10.  The  tenth  was  Femmetje,  born  February  20,  1777, 
and  baptized  on  the  17th  day  of  the  ensuing  August. 

From  this  time  until  the  end  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
no  church  records  were  kept.  Or,  if  they  were,  they  per- 
ished because  of  the  tumultuous  proceedings  of  those  days. 
Bolton  is  therefore  probably  right  in  giving  us  the  names 
of  two  other  children  of  Jacob  and  Frena  Romer,  He  men- 
tions : 

11.  Joseph. 

12.  James.* 

The  parents  of  this  patriarchal  family  lived  to  a  good 
old  age.  Jacob  was  the  feebler,  and  died  first.  It  must 
have  been  at  least  as  late  as  1815  when  Frena,  in  her  lonely 
age,  poured  into  the  ear  of  her  sympathizing  young  friend 
the  story  of  her  eventful  life.  It  was  such  a  story  of  true 
love  as  hardly  could  have  been  appreciated  by  her  friend  at 
an  earlier  period  of  her  life.  She  still  appreciated  it  when  she 
told  it  to  me  half  a  century  later ;  and  I  am  sure  I  should  not 
have  heard  it  had  I  not  felt  similar  sympathy  with  the 
lovers  whose  example  of  affection  and  faithfulness  I  am  glad 
to  put  on  record  for  the  admiration  and  imitation  of  lovers 
in  succeeding  generations. 

Frena  told  Mrs.  See  how,  one  day  in  his  old  age,  Jacob 
said  to  a  neighbor,  in  the  broken  English  which  was  then 
beginning  to  supplant  the  native  Dutch  of  the  region,  "I 
prays  mine  Gott  I  never  knows  a  sick  bett ;"  and  that  very 
evening  as  she  drew  near  according  to  her  custom  to  help 
him  to  his  couch,  he  gazed  into  her  eyes  with  the  old  look 
of  love,  essayed  to  speak,  stretched  out  his  hands  to  her, 
and — was  gone! 

I  believe  there  are  gravestones  still  standing  near  the  old 
church  to  indicate  the  burial  places  of  some  of  the  children 
of  Jacob  and  Frena  Romer.     It  would  not  be  difficult  to 


8  HISTORICAL.    SKETCHES 

trace  their  descendants  to  the  present  day,  and  those  of  them 
now  living  would  doubtless  be  glad  to  cherish  the  memory 
and  imitate  the  virtues  of  such  worthy  ancestors. — The 
Tarrytown  Argus,  March  9,  1907. 

*Dr.  Thompson  has  set  forth  the  names  of  Jacob  and  Frena 
Romer's  children  in  the  order  of  their  baptism.  Col.  J.  C.  L.  Ham- 
ilton who  has  made  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  subject,  writes  that 
James  and  Joseph  were  probably  born  between  1764  and  1767 ;  there 
is  no  record  of  their  baptism.  James  was  older  than  John.  When 
the  captors  of  Andre  returned  to  the  home  of  Jacob  Romer,  John 
being  the  youngest,  was  sent  to  fetch  the  pewter  basin,  forgotten  by 
the  others. 


CAPTAIN  JACOB  ROMER. 


The  romantic  story  of  the  love  which  Jacob  Romer  and 
Frena  Haarlager  bore  each  other,  and  of  the  dangers 
and  trials  which  they  underwent  and  endured  for  each 
other's  sake,  has  been  well  told  by  Reverend  John  B.  Thomp- 
son, D.  D.,  in  his  sketch  appearing  on  preceding  pages,  en- 
titled, "The  Romer  Family." 

In  those  early  days,  when,  for  the  love  which  warmed 
their  hearts,  Jacob  and  Frena  forsook  home  and  kindred, 
braved  the  dangers  of  a  comparatively  unknown  sea,  and, 
without  purse  or  scrip,  faced  the  privations  and  trials  of 
a  new  and  untamed  land,  it  was  a  common  thing  for  per- 
sons so  circumstanced  to  consent  that  they  be  sold  into 
servitude  by  the  captain  of  the  ship  which  brought  them 
over,  for  a  term  sufficient  to  compensate  him  for  the  ex- 
pense of  the  passage.    Persons  who  had  some  money  to  pay 
on  account,  and  were  sold   for  the  balance,  were  called 
"redemptioners,"  they  having  the  right  to   redeem  them- 
selves from  service  at  any  time  by  paying  the  remainder 
due  for  their  passage ;  but  such  as  were  sold  for  the  entire 
passage  money  were  called  "servants,"  and  were  compelled 
to  serve  the  entire  period  for  which  they  were  sold. 

In  the  case  of  Jacob  and  Frena,  she  was  sold  for  the  pas- 
sage expense  o!f  both,  for  a  term  of  seven  years — three 
and  one-half  years  for  each — in  order  that  he  might  the 
better  prepare  for  their  future.  One  account  is  to  the 
effect  that  Frena  had  money  for  her  passage  but  that  she 
insisted  on  using  it  for  the  payment  of  Jacob's  passage,  so 


10  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

that  he  might  be  free  to  work  for  their  mutual  benefit; 
but  it  seems  incredible  that  labor  was  at  that  time  so  cheap 
that  it  required  seven  years'  service  to  pay  the  passage 
for  one — it  seems  more  probable  that  her  service  Ifor  seven 
years  was  for  the  payment  of  the  expenses  of  both. 

They  came  to  this  country  in  or  about  the  year  1747. 
Frena  was  sold  "up  the  river"  near  Albany,  and  Jacob  busied 
himself  at  first  in  New  Amsterdam.  That  he  was  a  man 
of  character  and  respectability  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
he  united  with  the  Dutch  Church,  in  New  Amsterdam,  from 
which,  after  he  had  removed  to  Phillips  Manor,  he  ob- 
tained a  certificate  and  united  with  the  Dutch  Church  at 
Sleepy  Hollow,  in  1753. 

There  are  some  traditions  to  the  effect  that  he  enlisted 
on  an  English  man-of-war  on  blockade  duty,  off  the  port 
of  New  York,  and,  a  Spanish  ship  having  been  captured,  he 
was  put  in  command  of  a  prize  crew  and  brought  the  prize 
into  port.  In  a  volume  entitled  "Old  Westchester  Wills," 
there  is  mentioned  the  will  of  one  Richard  Blizzard,  of 
Eastchester,  in  Westchester  County,  dated  December  8, 
1757,  wherein  he  bequeathed  to  his  friend  Thomas  Butler 
"all  the  prize  money  due  to  me  on  the  Royal  Hester,  Snow 
of  War,  Jacob  Romer,  Commander";  but  whether  or  not 
Jacob  sailed  the  seas  for  a  time  as  privateersman  or  other- 
wise, it  is  certain  as  the  seven  years  di  Frena's  service  were 
about  expiring,  he  made  preparations  for  her  reception. 
He  bought  from  Colonel  Adolph  Phillips  a  small  piece  of 
land  on  a  high  hill  called  "Kykuit,"  now  known  as  "East 
View,"  near  Tarrytown,  and  erected  a  little  house,  close  by 
a  bubbling  spring  of  water,  the  situation  commanding  an 
extensive  view  of  the  surrounding  country.  The  land  he 
purchased  was  at  the  extreme  easterly  end  of  a  farm  occu- 
pied by  one  Michael  McKeel,  who  was  a  tenant  of  Colonel 
Phillips.  After  the  Revolution,  when  the  Phillips  land 
was  sold  by  the  Commissioners  of  Forfeiture,  this  farm 
was   purchased   by   McKeel,   but   in   the   deed   given   him 


CAPTAIN  JACOB   ROMER  11 

by  the  Commissioners  they  excepted  from  its  provisions 
the  parcel  occupied  by  Captain  Jacob  Romer,  this  tract 
being  the  only  parcel  of  the  entire  manor  which  was  so 
excepted,  showing  that  Jacob  Romer's  title  to  his  little 
homestead  was  acknowledged  and  respected. 

Jacob,  having  bought  his  land,  built  his  house,  and  joined 
the  church,  set  about  finding  his  Frena,  her  seven  years  of 
service  being  about  ended.  He  applied  to  the  old  post  reiter 
who  carried  the  mail  between  New  York  and  Albany,  to 
assist  him,  and  showed  him  some  money  with  which  he  could 
compensate  him  for  his  trouble.  The  old  man's  search 
was  successful,  and  one  day  Frena  mounted  his  horse 
behind  him  and  made  the  journey,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  in  this  manner.  The  meeting  of  Jacob  and  Frena 
was  a  joyful  one,  as  may  well  be  imagined.  The  long  years 
of  waiting  were  ended.  Jacob  had  some  relatives,  Hen- 
drick  Roemer  and  family,  living  near,  and  of  course  there 
was  a  sincere  welcome.  They  engaged  the  Minister,  Rev- 
erend Johannes  Ritzema,  and  on  August  20,  1754,  in  the 
old  Dutch  church  in  Sleepy  Hollow,  were  married.  The 
record  states  that  both  were  born  in  Switzerland,  and  at 
the  time  of  marriage  were  living  in  Phillipsburg. 

Then  a  fire  was  kindled  in  the  little  house  on  the  hill 
Kykuit,  and  a  new  home  was  organized.  Very  humble  it 
was,  but  it  sheltered  loving  hearts,  and  reverent  souls.  In 
Eden  the  Lord  said  to  Adam  that  he  should  eat  bread  in 
the  sweat  of  his  face,  all  the  days  of  his  life.  And  this 
is  what  Jacob  and  Frena  did,  as  the  result  of  honest  toil. 
On  Ararat,  Noah  was  told  to  multiply  and  replenish  the 
earth.  Jacob  and  Frena  followed  this  injunction,  and  sent 
out  from  their  hill-side  home  five  stalwart  sons  and  seven 
womanly  daughters.  The  sons  were  named  Hendrick,  Jacob, 
James,  Joseph  and  John;  the  daughters  Elizabeth,  Frena, 
Catrina,  Marietje,  Annateje,  Sarah  and  Fremmetje.  Ten  of 
these — all  but  James  and  Joseph — according  to  the  record, 
were  baptized  in  the  old  church  at  Sleepy  Hollow.    Frena 


12  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

united  with  this  church  on  June  18,  1755, — the  day  after 
the  baptism  of  Hendrick,  her  first  baby. 

The  sons  of  this  couple  all  shouldered  muskets  for  home 
and  country  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  daughters 
married  and  helped  organize  other  homes,  and  gave  other 
sons  for  the  taming  of  the  wilderness  and  the  upbuilding 
of  the  State. 

The  little  house  on  the  hillside  continued  to  be  the  home 
of  Jacob  and  Frena  until  long  after  the  Revolution.  It  was 
situated  about  600  feet  south  of  the  highway,  leading  from 
Tarrytown  to  White  Plains,  sometimes  called  the  "Refugee's 
Path,"  with  which  it  was  connected  by  a  private  lane. 
Located  in  the  very  heart  of  the  neutral  ground,  it  un- 
doubtedly owed  its  security  in  those  troublous  days  to  its 
isolation.  It  was  to  this  house  that  James  Romer  led  the 
little  band  of  militiamen  before  day-break,  on  the  memor- 
able 23rd  of  September,  1780,  who,  before  the  noon  hour 
of  that  day,  captured  Major  John  Andre.  It  was  here 
that  Frena,  mother  Of  James,  prepared  and  served  break- 
fast for  the  party  and  put  up  a  lunch  in  the  old  pewter 
basin  for  their  mid-day  meal,  and  it  was  to  this  house  that 
the  captors  returned,  bringing  their  prisoner  with  them,  and 
had  dinner.  Frena,  missing  her  pewter  basin,  which  had 
been  overlooked  and  forgotten  in  the  excitement  of  the 
capture,  sent  her  youngest  son,  John,  to  fetch  it,  which  he 
did,  and  John's  grandson,  Colonel  John  C.  L.  Hamilton,  of 
Elmsford,  now  (1916)  has  it. 

Dinner  being  prepared,  Mrs.  Romer  asked  Andre  to 
partake,  but  he  declined.  Noticing  his  superior  apparel 
and  demeanor,  she  apologized  for  the  plain  repast,  but  Andre 
said :  "Madam,  it  is  all  very  good,  but  indeed  I  cannot  eat." 
After  their  meal,  the  captors,  seven  in  number,  together 
with  their  prisoner  and  accompanied  by  John  Romer,  brother 
of  James,  proceeded  to  the  American  Headquarters  and 
there  delivered  the  British  Major  to  Colonel  Jameson,  in 
command  of  the  post. 


ROM 


lL,    [  V 


IN  WE^flRf  QF 
CAPTAIN  JACOB  ROMER 

km  FfcttiAll/UllUAGEflkiS  mre 

WHO  EMGRWEB  FROM  SMT2ERLARD  IK  ["747* 


I3Y  THE  RE*  JOKAKHES  RlYHEKA. 

AuaosT  8Q,i?S4. 


i-rena  Died  Jam.  Ek  (819,  Aged  34  Years 


1YUE  GA.PTORSOF  MaUUR  fcKDftE  BREMSftSTEB  AT  THEIR  HOME 
THE  MORKIKC  OFTKE  GAPTUUE,TKEl&SllN  JAWES  ROMER. 
BEIK.U  SHE!  OF  THE  PARTY*  AFTER  THE  GAPTURE.TKE 
1    EKTlREEARTYRETURKEQTDTKERQMERHDWEFDRCllNREfl.    I 


j  Erecteii  by  John,  luckwqod  Rower,  and  Jqkk  CL.Kamilvgn 

I  TWOOFTKElRGREATCrfiAKtICmLDREK.mREKEWW.OFAFORrtEK.SrD«E 


SLEEPY  HOLLOW  CHURCHYARD 


CAPTAIN  JACOB  ROMER  13 

After  the  war,  John  Romer  married  Leah,  the  daughter 
of  Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel.  John  and  Cornelius 
joined  hands  in  1793,  built  the  well-known  stone  and  frame 
house  on  the  Sawmill  River  Road,  on  the  site  of  the  former 
home  of  Lieutenant  Van  Tassel,  burned  by  the  British  and 
Tories  in  1777.  Upon  the  completion  of  this  new  home, 
Captain  Jacob  Romer  and  his  wife  Frena,  in  their  old  age, 
left  their  home  on  Kykuit,  and  went  into  the  valley  of 
the  Sawmill  River,  then  as  now  a  valley  of  peace  and  com- 
fort, and  made  their  home  with  their  son  John  for  the 
remainder  of  their  days.  In  1806,  Jacob  conveyed  to  John 
his  homestead  on  Kykuit  by  deed,  appearing  at  the  end  of 
this  sketch.  The  old  house  remained  in  its  original  location 
until  the  construction  of  the  New  York  and  Putnam  Rail- 
road, when  it  was  removed  into  an  adjoining  field,  and  a 
few  years  later,   was  accidentally  destroyed  by  fire. 

The  land  originally  purchased  by  Jacob  Romer  from 
Colonel  Phillips  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  Jdhn  D.  Rockefeller. 

Jacob  Romer  died  February  14,  1807,  aged  ninety- 
three  years ;  Frena  died  January  2,  1819,  aged  ninety- 
four  years.  They  are  both  buried  in  the  church- 
yard surrounding  the  old  Dutch  church  at  Sleepy 
Hollow,  in  which  church  they  exchanged  their  mar- 
riage vows  and  where  they  brought  their  children  for 
baptism.  Very  humble  people  were  they — children  of  pri- 
vation and  toil,  living  in  troublesome  times,  yet  possessing 
qualities  which  would  enrich  any  of  earth's  nobility.  They 
were  true  to  their  love ;  they  married  for  better  or  worse, 
and  did  not  forget  their  marriage  vows ;  they  walked  up- 
rightly in  the  paths  of  their  life ;  they  fought  a  good  fight ; 
they  finished  their  course ;  they  kept  the  faith. 

The  stone  erected  over  their  graves  a  century  ago  has 
crumbled,  but  two  of  their  descendants  have  erected  another 
of  enduring  granite  to  mark  the  resting  place  of  these  com- 
mon people  who  played  well  their  part. 


14  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

JACOB   ROMER  TO  JOHN   ROMER 

DEED. 

THIS  INDENTURE,  Made  this  Fifth  day  of  November,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  six,  Between 
Jacob  Roomer,  of  the  Town  of  Greenburgh,  in  the  County  of  West- 
chester and  State  of  New  York,  of  the  first  part,  and  John  Romer, 
of  the  same  place,  of  the  second  part,  WITNESSETH,  That  the 
said  Jacob  Roomer  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  Natural  Love 
and  affection  which  he  the  said  Jacob  Roomer  hath  and  beareth  unto 
the  said  John  Roomer,  and  also  for  the  better  support  and  liveli- 
hood of  him  the  said  John  Roomer,  hath  Given  and  Granted,  Alien- 
ed, enfeoffed  and  confirmed,  and  by  these  presents  doth  give,  grant, 
alien,  enfeoff  and  confirm  unto  the  said  John  Roomer,  his  heirs 
and  assigns,  All  that  certain  tract  piece  or  parcel  of  land  and 
premises  now  or  late  in  the  possession  and  occupation  of  the  said 
Jacob  Romer,  situate,  lying  and  being  in  the  said  Town  of  Green- 
burgh, and  computed  to  be  about  Four  Acres,  be  the  same  more 
or  less,  as  the  same  was  heretofore  possessed  by  the  said  Jacob 
Roomer;  TOGETHER  with  all  and  singular  the  Heriditaments  and 
appurtenances  thereunto  belonging  or  in  any  wise  appertaining  to 
the  said  tract,  piece  or  parcel  of  Land  hereby  Granted  or  meant  or 
intended  to  be  unto  the  said  John  Roomer  as  aforesaid,  and  every 
part  and  parcel  thereof  or  which  hath  been  heretofore  held  and  oc- 
cupied or  enjoyed  or  accepted,  reputed,  taken  or  known  as  a  part 
or  parcel  thereof,  or  in  any  manner  belonging  to  the  same.  And 
all  the  estate,  right,  title,  interest,  property,  claim  and  demand  What- 
soever of  him  the  said  Jacob  Roomer,  of,  in  or  to  the  same  lot, 
tract,  piece  or  parcel  of  land  and  premises,  and  of  in  and  to  every 
part  and  parcel  thereof,  with  their  and  every  of  their  appurtenances. 

To  Have  and  To  Hold  the  said  tract,  piece  or  parcel  of  land 
and  all  and  singular  other  the  premises  hereby  granted  and  confirmed 
or  mentioned  or  intended  so  to  be  with  all  and  singular  the  appur- 
tenances unto  the  same  belonging  or  in  any  wise  appertaining  unto 
the  said  John  Roomer,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  to  the  only  proper  use, 
benefit  and  behoof  of  him  the  said  John  Roomer,  his  heirs  and 
assigns  forever. 

IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF,  The  said  Jacob  Roomer  hath  here- 
unto set  his  hand  and  affixed  his  seal  the  day  and  year  first  above 

written. 

His 

JACOB  X  ROMER. 

Mark 

The  Words  "Natural  Love"  in  the  third  line  written  on  an  era- 
sure before  the  execution  hereof. 
Sealed  and  Delivered  in  Presence  of 


Solomon  Brewer 
Thomas  Boyce,  Junior 
Abraham  Acker 
Henry  Hammond 


CAPTAIN  JACOB   ROMER  15 


Westchester  County,  SS. 

Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  third  day  of  April  in  the  year  One 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  seven,  before  me,  Caleb  Tompkins,  one 
of  the  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  and  for  said  County, 
personally  appeared  Henry  Hammond,  to  me  known  to  be  the  same 
person  described  as  one  of  the  subscribing  witnesses  to  the  within 
conveyance,  who  being  duly  sworn  deposeth  and  said  that  he  saw 
Jacob  Romer,  to  him  known  to  be  the  same  person  described  in  and 
Who  executed  the  said  deed,  execute  the  same  for  the  use  and  pur- 
poses therein  mentioned,  and  that  this  deponent  together  with  Sol- 
omon Brewer,  Thomas  Boyce,  Junior,  and  Abraham  Acker  sub- 
scribed the  same  as  witnesses.  I  having  inspected  the  said  convey- 
ance and  finding  no  material  erasures  or  interlineations  thereon, 
excepting  such  as  are  noted,  do  allow  the  same  to  be  recorded. 

CALEB  TOMPKINS. 


CAPTAIN  JOHN  ROMER. 


John  Romer,  the  fifth  son  of  Captain  Jacob  R'omer  and 
Frena  Haarlager,  his  wife,  was  born  in  the  home  of  his 
parents  on  the  "Lookout  Mountain,"  known  as  Kykuit,  over- 
looking the  Sawmill  River  Valley,  the  location  being  now 
known  as  East  View,  near  Tarrytown,  on  the  tenth  day  of 
November,  1764,  and  was  baptized  in  December,  1767,  in 
the  old  Dutch  church  in  Sleepy  Hollow. 

The  family  of  Captain  Jacob  Romer  consisted  of  himself, 
wife,  five  sons  and  seven  daughters.  The  sons  were  named 
Hendrick,  Jacob,  James,  Joseph  and  John,  all  of  whom  were 
enrolled  as  members  of  Colonial  regiments  serving  in  the 
cause  of  American  liberty  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  John 
Romer,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  being  less  than  twelve 
years  of  age  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  was  later  en- 
rolled as  a  private  in  Captain  Van  Benshoten's  Company  of 
the  Second  Regiment  of  Dutchess  County  Militia.  The 
daughters  of  Jacob  and  Frena  were:  Elizabeth,  baptized 
March  3,  1757;  Frena,  baptized  September  13,  1760  (she 
married  Abraham  Martelings  in  1784)  ;  Catrina,  baptized 
April  30,  1763;  Mareitje,  baptized  September  2,  1769; 
Annatje,  baptized  May  9,  1772 ;  Sarah,  baptized  November 
16,  1773;  Femmetje,  born  February  20,  1777;  baptized 
August  17,  1777. 

The  home  of  this  patriarchal  and  patriotic  family  was 
located  in  the  very  heart  of  what  was  known  as  the  "Neutral 
Ground,"  a  territory  lying  north  of  the  lines  of  the  British 
army,  whose  headquarters  were  in  New  York  City,  and 

16 


CAPTAIN  JOHN  ROMER 


CAPTAIN  JOHN  ROMER  17 

south  of  the  lines  of  the  Continental  army,  which  occupied 
the  territory  north  of  the  Croton  River.  The  inhabitants 
of  this  section  were  divided  in  their  political  sentiments, — 
some,  called  Tories,  holding  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown  ; 
and  others,  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  independence,  espous- 
ing the  cause  of  the  Colonies,  were  designated  by  the  Tories 
as  rebels.  Because  of  their  position  outside  the  lines  of 
both  armies,  the  inhabitants  of  this  locality  were  deprived  of 
the  protection  which  the  occupancy  of  the  territory  by  either 
army  would  have  afforded,  and  so  they  were  subjected  to  ill 
usage  by  the  irresponsible  followers  of  both  camps,  by  the 
Tory  partisans  particularly,  and  at  times  by  direct  command 
erf  British  officers.  The  well-stocked  farms  of  the  thrifty 
dwellers  in  the  Sawmill  River  Valley  afforded,  while  any- 
thing remained,  a  rich  foraging  ground  for  the  British  forces 
quartered  in  New  York,  and  their  Tory  sympathizers  in 
the  neighborhood  were  not  slow  in  organizing  bands  of 
marauders  to  plunder  the  farms,  dwellings,  barns  and  hen 
roosts  of  their  "Rebel"  neighbors,  finding  for  the  loot  so 
obtained  a  ready  market  within  the  British  lines.  This  sort 
of  brigandage  soon  reduced  the  people  of  the  Valley  to 
necessitous  circumstances.  In  order  to  recoup  their  losses, 
some  of  the  more  lawless  of  the  inhabitants  formed  them- 
selves into  bands,  called  "Skinners,"  to  prey  upon  their 
neighbors  of  Tory  proclivities,  but  both  sets  of  brigands  soon 
lost  sight  of  the  political  affiliations  of  the  people,  and  seek- 
ing only  their  personal  benefit,  did  not  stop  to  inquire 
whether  a  sleek  ox,  or  a  fat  hog,  belonged  either  to  a  Rebel 
or  a  Tory — a  toothsome  sparerib  or  a  juicy  steak  or  roast 
and  a  lusty  appetite  for  either  obscured  every  other  con- 
sideration and  was  to  them  a  sufficient  justification  for 
ruthless  robbery.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  dwellers  on  this 
Neutral  Ground  established  lookout  stations  whence  an 
alarm  was  sounded  whenever  a  party  of  horse  or  foot  was 
observed  approaching,  on  hearing  which  the  cattle  were 
driven  into  the  woods  for  concealment,  household  valuables 


18  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

secreted,  families  retired  to  places  of  hiding,  and  an  occa- 
sional musket  ball  was  sent  through  the  breast  of  a  cowboy 
by  some  incensed  farmer  from  his  place  of  ambush.  The 
region  was  also  the  scene  of  frequent  sanguinary  encounters 
between  the  enrolled  troops  of  the  contending  armies.  Bol- 
ton, in  his  History  of  Westchester  County,  recounts  some  of 
these.  The  story  of  one  of  them,  being  an  encounter  in  the 
Sawmill  River  Valley  between  a  troop  of  American  cav- 
alry commanded  by  Captain  Hopkins  and  a  British  force 
under  Colonel  Emerick,  was  related  to  him  by  John  Romer, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was  an  eyewitness  of  and 
probably  a  participant  in  the  engagement. 

Irving,  in  his  Life  of  Washington,  relates  the  story  of  the 
attack  made  by  the  British  and  Hessians  on  American  troops, 
posted  at  Young's  House,  near  White  Plains,  on  February 
2,  1780,  which  is  here  reproduced: 

"Another  noted  maraud  during  Knyohausen's  military  sway 
was  in  the  lower  part  of  Westchester  County,  in  a  hilly  region 
lying  between  the  British  and  American  lines,  which  had  been  the 
scene  of  part  of  the  past  year's  campaign.  Being  often  foraged, 
its  inhabitants  had  become  belligerent  in  their  habits,  and  quick 
to  retaliate  on  all  marauders. 

"In  this  region,  about  twenty  miles  from  the  British  outposts, 
and  not  far  from  White  Plains,  the  Americans  had  established  a 
post  of  three  hundred  men  at  a  stone  building  commonly  known 
as  Young's  House,  from  the  name  of  its  owner.  It  commanded  a 
road  which  passed  from  north  to  south  down  along  the  narrow 
but  fertile  valley  of  the  Sawmill  River,  now  known  by  its  original 
Indian  name  of  the  Neperan.  On  this  road  the  garrison  of 
Young's  House  kept  a  vigilant  eye,  to  intercept  the  convoys  of 
cattle  and  orovision  which  had  been  collected  or  plundered  by  the 
enemy,  and  which  passed  down  this  valley  toward  New  York. 
This  post  had  long  been  an  annoyance  to  the  enemy,  but  its  dis- 
tance from  the  British  lines  had  hitherto  saved  it  from  attack. 
The  country  was  now  covered  with  snow ;  troops  could  be  rapidly 
transported  on  sleighs ;  and  it  was  determined  that  Young's 
House  should  be  surprised  and  this  rebel  nest  broken  up. 

"On  the  evening  of  the  second  of  February,  1780.  an  expedition 
set  out  for  the  purpose  from  King's  Bridge,  led  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Norton,  and  consisting  of  four  flank  companies  of 
guards,  two  companies  of  Hessians,  and  a  party  of  Yagers,  all 
in  sleighs;  besides  a  body  of  Yager  cavalry,  and  a  number  of 
mounted   Westchester    refugees,   with   two   three-pounders. 


CAPTAIN    JOHN   ROMER  19 

"The  snow,  being  newly  fallen,  was  deep ;  the  sleighs  broke 
their  way  through  it  with  difficulty.  The  troops  at  length  aban- 
doned them  and  pushed  forward  on  foot.  The  cannon  were  left 
behind  for  the  same  reason.  It  was  a  weary  tramp ;  the  snow 
in  many  places  was  more  than  two  feet  deep  and  they  had  to  take 
by-ways  and  cross-roads  to  avoid  the  American  patrols. 

"The  sun  rose  while  they  were  yet  seven  miles  from  Young's 
House.  To  surprise  the  post  was  out  of  the  question ;  still  they 
kept  on.  Before  they  could  reach  the  house  the  country  had 
taken  the  alarm,  and  the  Westchester  yeomanry  had  armed 
themselves,  and  were  hastening  to  aid  the  garrison. 

"The  British  light  infantry  and  grenadiers  invested  the  man- 
sion ;  the  cavalry  posted  themselves  on  a  neighboring  eminence, 
to  prevent  retreat  or  reinforcement,  and  the  house  was  assailed. 
It  made  a  brave  resistance,  and  was  aided  by  some  of  the  yeo- 
manry stationed  in  an  adjacent  orchard.  The  garrison,  however, 
was  overpowered ;  numbers  were  killed,  and  ninety  taken  prison- 
ers. The  house  was  sacked  and  set  in  flames ;  and  thus,  having 
broken  up  this  stronghold  of  the  country,  the  party  hastened  to 
effect  a  safe  return  to  the  lines  with  their  prisoners,  some  of 
whom  were  so  badly  wounded  that  they  had  to  be  left  at  differ- 
ent farm-houses  on  the  road.  The  detachment  reached  King's 
Bridge  by  nine  o'clock  the  same  evening,  and  boasted  that,  in  this 
surprise,  they  had  sustained  no  other  losses  than  two  killed  and 
twenty-three  wounded. 

"Of  the  prisoners  many  were  doubtless  farmers  and  farmers' 
sons,  who  had  turned  out  in  defense  of  their  homes,  and  were 
now  to  be  transferred  to  the  horrors  of  the  jail  and  sugar-house 
in  New  York.  We  give  this  affair  as  a  specimen  of  the  petite 
guerre  carried  on  in  the  southern  part  of  Westchester  County; 
the  NEUTRAL  GROUND,  as  it  was  called,  but  subjected,  from 
its  vicinity  to  the  city,  to  be  foraged  by  the  royal  forces  and 
plundered  and  insulted  by  refugees  and  Tories.  No  part  of  the 
Union  was  more  harried  and  trampled  down  by  friend  and  foe, 
during  the  Revolution,  than  this  debatable  region  and  the  Jer- 
seys." 

Nearly  the  entire  male  patriotic  population  of  this  district 
able  to  do  military  duty  were  enrolled  in  the  militia  regi- 
ments of  the  country,  men  of  the  first  regiment  being  sta- 
tioned at  various  posts  in  the  county  for  the  protection  of 
the  residents  and  for  patrol  duty  in  advance  of  the  American 
lines.  This  regiment  was  not  constantly  in  the  field,  but 
was  ordered  out  from  time  to  time  as  the  exigencies  of 
the  service  demanded.  In  December,  1776,  a  detachment 
from  this  regiment  was  stationed  at  the  houses  of  Lieu- 
tenant Cornelius  Van  Tassel  and  Committeeman  Peter  Van 
Tassel,  on  the  Sawmill  River  Road,  and  another  at  the 


20  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

house  of  Joseph  Young.  Subsequently  Captain  Sybert 
Acker's  company  of  about  sixty  men  was  stationed  at 
the  Van  Tassel  houses.  The  men  so  enrolled,  when  not 
actually  needed  for  camp  or  active  field  service,  were  al- 
lowed to  return  temporarily  to  their  homes  to  plant  and 
cultivate  their  farms  and  otherwise  provide  for  their  fam- 
ilies. Their  terms  of  enlistment  were  usually  for  short 
periods;  their  pay  was  uncertain,  and  when  made  was  in 
paper  currency  of  little  value.  Money  was  so  scarce  that  the 
Colony  of  New  York  at  one  time  offered  ten  bushels  of 
wheat  as  pay  for  three  months'  service  of  enlisted  men,  and 
for  a  longer  period  one  and  one-half  bushels  per  month,  and 
directed  the  county  officials  of  Westchester  County  to  levy 
a  tax  upon  certain  townships  of  the  county  where  the  civil 
law  could  be  enforced,  to  wit,  the  towns  of  Poundridge, 
Salem,  North  Castle,  Bedford  and  Manor  of  Cortland,  re- 
quiring them  to  furnish  an  aggregate  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  pairs  of  good  woolen  stockings  and  one  hundred 
and  four  pairs  of  strong  leather  shoes  for  use  of  the  army, 
the  Colony  at  large  being  required  to  furnish  a  total  of  two 
thousand  pairs  of  shoes,  and  twenty-four  hundred  pairs  of 
stockings. 

In  addition  to  general  privations,  the  frequent  outrages 
and  robberies  perpetrated  by  Tories,  Refugees,  Hessians, 
Yagers,  British  and  Skinners  had  so  aroused  and  enraged 
the  sturdy  farmers  of  the  neighborhood  that  small  independ- 
ent parties  were  frequently  organized  for  temporary  service 
in  intercepting  and  dispersing  marauding  bands  setting  forth 
on  these  nefarious  excursions,  or  who  might  be  returning 
with  their  loot  to  the  British  lines,  and  if  in  the  course  of 
their  encounters  some  of  the  cattle  thieves  were  killed  there 
was  no  mourning  on  the  part  of  the  Westchester  yeomen. 

In  1780,  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  British  obtaining  supplies  of  horses  and  cattle  from  the 
upper  part  of  the  counties  of  Westchester,  Dutchess  and 
Orange,  passed  an  Act  requiring  Governor  Clinton  to  es- 


CAPTAIN   JOHN    ROMER  21 

tablish  by  proclamation  a  line  through  those  counties  south 
of  which  no  cattle  or  horses  should  be  driven  except  for  the 
use  of  the  American  army,  under  penalty  of  forfeiture  and 
sale,  the  proceeds  thereof  to  be  divided  between  the  State 
and'  the  parties  making  the  capture.  This  line  was  estab- 
lished at  Pines  Bridge,  over  the  Croton  River.  The  troops 
at  Lieutenant  Joseph  Young's  house,  on  the  lower  cross- 
road leading  from  Tarrytown  to  White  Plains,  were  re- 
moved to  Pines  Bridge,  and  five  companies  of  the  South 
Battalion  of  Westchester  County  Militia  returned  to  their 
homes  in  the  immediate  neighborhood. 

In  the  latter  part  of  September,  1780,  a  little  company  of 
seven  young  men,  named  John  Paulding,  David  Williams, 
Isaac  See,  James  Romer,  John  Yerks,  Isaac  Van  Wart  and 
Abraham  Williams,  all  members  of  the  local  militia,  learn- 
ing of  the  terms  of  the  Governor's  proclamation,  arranged 
to*do  a  little  scout  duty  for  the  general  good  on  their  own 
account.     They  were  then  in  the  neighborhood  of  North 
Salem.     On  the  twenty-second  of   September,  having  ob- 
tained permission  to  take  their  muskets  with  them,  they  took 
up  their  march  toward  Tarrytown ;  that  night  they  spent  in 
the  barn  of  John  Anderson,  sleeping  on  the  hay ;  the  next 
morning  they  were  astir  before  daybreak,  and  James  Romer 
piloted  them  over  Buttermilk  Hill  to  the  house  of  his  father, 
Captain  Jacob  Romer,  on  Kykuit.     Here  they  had  a  sub- 
stantial breakfast,  and  Mrs.   Romer   (Frena)    prepared  a 
lunch  for  them,  packing  the  same  in  a  large  pewter  basin 
and  a  basket  for  convenience  of  carriage.    Thus  provided, 
and  carrying  their  muskets,  the  little  party  proceeded  to  the 
road  crossing  the  country  to  White  Plains  (commonly  called 
the  Refugees'  Path)  and  along  that  road  towards  the  Bed- 
ford Road  (stopping  at  Archer  Read's  for  a  pack  of  cards), 
until  they  reached  an  elevation  known  as  David's  Hill.  From 
here  an  extensive  view  of  the  Hudson,  the  old  manor  house 
and  church,  as  well  as  the  intersection  of  the  roads  leading  to 
Bedford,  Sleepy  Hollow,  and  White  Plains  Road,  as  also 


22 


HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 


MAP  OF  LOCALITY  OF  ANDRES  CAPTURE 


CAPTAIN   JOHN   ROMER  23 

the  main  Albany  Post  Road  leading  toward  New  York,  could 
be  had,  and  here  James  Romer,  Isaac  See,  John  Yerks  and 
Abraham  Williams  were  stationed  to  watch  and  guard  this 
road,  while  John  Paulding,  Isaac  Van  Wart  and  David  Wil- 
liams proceeded  across  the  fields  to  the  "lower"  road,  known 
as  the  Old  Post  Road,  leading  more  directly  to  New  York, 
and  only  a  few  hundred  yards  distant  in  the  valley  below. 
Here,  at  a  point  where  the  road  was  narrow  because  of  a 
large  tulip  (whitewood)  tree,  standing  in  the  center  of  it, 
the  three  halted  and  stationed  themselves,  being  about  six 
hundred  feet  southerly  from  David's  Hill,  where  the  four 
were  stationed.  This  tulip  tree  was  a  noted  landmark,  the 
trunk  being  twenty-four  feet  in  circumference  and  one  hun- 
dred and  eleven  feet  high,  and  its  branches  spreading  out  to 
a  diameter  of  one  hundred  and  six  feet.  In  the  shade  of  this 
tree,  Major  Andre,  the  British  spy,  was  arrested.  The  sus- 
picions of  the  three  Americans  being  aroused,  Andre  was 
taken  into  an  adjoining  field,  beside  a  little  brook,  then 
known  as  Clark's  Kill,  afterwards  called  Andre's  Brook, 
where,  screened  by  the  bushes,  he  was  searched  and  the  in- 
criminating papers  found  in  his  stockings.  The  three  cap- 
tors, with  their  prisoner,  then  joined  the  other  members  of 
the  party  on  the  hill,  and,  refusing  all  of  Andre's  offers  of 
money  for  his  release,  they  concluded  to  take  him  to  the 
American  headquarters.  Leaving  their  post  on  the  hill,  they 
proceeded  once  more  to  the  house  of  Jacob  Romer,  on  Ky- 
kuit,  where  they  stopped  for  their  dinner.  In  the  excitement 
of  the  capture  and  in  their  eagerness  to  avoid  the  highway, 
the  three  men  on  the  lower  road,  who  had  carried  the  lunch, 
forgot  all  about  it,  and  left  lunch  and  basin  under  the  tulip 
tree.  Pewter  basins  were  pewter  basins  in  those  days,  and 
when  Mrs.  Jacob  Romer  observed  its  absence,  learning 
where  it  had  been  left,  her  youngest  son,  John  Romer,  then 
sixteen  years  of  age,  was  sent  for  it,  and  brought  it  back  to 
his  home.  He  retained  it  until  near  the  close  of  his  life,  when 
he  gave  it  to  his  grandson,  John  C.  L.  Hamilton,  who  at 


24  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

this  date  (1916)  still  has  it.  When  the  noon  repast  was 
ready,  Mrs.  Romer  urged  Andre  to  partake,  but  he  de- 
clined. Noticing  his  superior  dress  and  demeanor,  she 
thought  he  did  not  care  for  the  plain  food  provided  for  the 
meal,  and  made  apologies  for  it,  when  Andre  interrupted, 
saying,  "Madam,  it  is  all  very  good,  but  indeed  I  cannot 
eat." 

Finishing  their  meal,  the  seven  captors,  together  with 
John  Romer,  set  out  for  Colonel  Jameson's  headquarters, 
at  a  place  called  Mile  Square,  and  there  delivered  their 
prisoner,  who  claimed  at  first  to  be  John  Anderson,  but  who 
later  admitted  his  identity  and  acknowledged  he  was  Major 
Andre,  Adjutant-General  of  the  British  Army. 

The  old  Albany  Post  Road  was  laid  out  by  commis- 
sioners appointed  for  the  purpose  in  September,  1723.  The 
old  road  was  changed  about  1800  by  an  Act  of  the  Legis- 
lature to  its  present  location,  and  called  Highland  Turnpike. 
The  right  of  way  of  the  old  road  being  found  necessary  for 
the  construction  of  the  Croton  Aqueduct,  it  was  officially 
closed  by  legislative  enactment  about  the  year  1838. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1781,  General  Washington  and  the 
Count  de  Rochambeau  having  held  a  conference  in  respect 
to  the  campaign  by  the  combined  armies,  the  French  marched 
from  Connecticut  and  joined  the  American  forces  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Dobbs  Ferry,  in  Westchester  County, 
having  in  view  an  attack  upon  the  northern  part  of  New 
York  City.  Washington,  in  pursuance  of  this  plan,  marched 
from  Peekskill  on  the  second  of  July,  1781,  leaving  his 
tents  standing,  making  a  direct  halt  at  Croton  Bridge,  about 
nine  miles  from  Peekskill,  another  at  the  Sleepy  Hollow 
Church  at  Tarrytown,  where  he  halted  until  dusk — ("I 
made  a  halt  at  the  church  by  Tarrytown  till  dusk" — Wash- 
ington's Diary,  July  2,  1781),  and  completed  the  rest  of 
his  march  in  the  night  to  Valentine's  Hill,  four  miles  above 
King's  Bridge,  where  he  arrived  about  sunrise;  but  it  was 
found  that  a  British  regiment  was  encamped  on  the  north 


CAPTAIN    JOHN    ROMER  25 

end  of  New  York  Island,  and  a  ship  of  war  anchored  in 
the  river,  so  the  surprisal  of  the  British  forts  was  out  of 
the  question.  Being  disappointed  in  his  object,  Washington 
did  not  care  to  fatigue  his  troops  any  more,  but  suffered 
them  to  remain  on  their  arms,  and  spent  a  good  part  of  the 
day  reconnoitering  the  enemy's  works.  The  next  day  he 
marched  to  Dobbs  Ferry,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  Count 
de  Rochambeau  on  the  sixth  of  July.  The  two  armies  now 
encamped ;  the  American  in  two  lines,  resting  on  the  Hudson 
at  Dobbs  Ferry,  where  it  was  covered  by  batteries,  and  ex- 
tending eastward  toward  the  Neperan,  or  Sawmill  River; 
the  French  in  a  single  line  on  the  hills  farther  east,  reaching 
to  the  Bronx  River.  The  beautiful  valley  of  the  Neperan 
intervened  between  the  encampments.  It  was  a  lovely  coun- 
try for  a  summer  encampment — breezy  hills  commanding 
wide  prospects,  pleasant  valleys  watered  by  bright  pastoral 
streams,  the  Bronx,  Spraine  and  the  Neperan,  and  abound- 
ing with  never-failing  springs.  The  French  encampment 
made  a  gallant  display  along  the  Greenburg  hills,  giving 
much  of  cheer  and  encouragement  to  the  American  troops 
and  to  the  long-suffering  inhabitants  of  the  region.  The 
presence  of  the  two  armies  gave  the  latter  a  sense  of  se- 
curity they  had  not  known  since  the  breaking  out  of  the  war 
five  years  before,  and  inspired  them  with  a  hope  that  their 
tribulations  were  nearing  an  end.  The  commanders  of  the 
two  armies  occupied  farmhouses  in  the  neighborhood  for 
their  headquarters,  Washington  being  lodged  in  the  house 
of  Lieutenant  Joseph  Appleby,  and  Rochambeau  in  the 
house  of  the  widow  of  Gilbert  Bates,  which  is  still  (1916) 
in  existence.  During  the  three  or  four  weeks  the  two  armies 
were  so  encamped  the  intercourse  between  the  officers  and 
men  of  the  separate  camps  was  very  cordial,  and  occasion- 
ally, on  festive  occasions,  long  tables  were  spread  in  the 
adjacent  barns  which  were  converted  into  banqueting  halls. 
The  young  French  officers  gained  the  good  graces  of  the 
country  belles,  though  little  acquainted  with  their  language. 


26  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

Their  encampment  was  particularly  gay,  and  it  was  the 
boast  of  an  old  lady  of  the  neighborhood  many  years  after 
the  war,  that  she  had  danced  at  headquarters  when  a  girl 
with  the  celebrated  Marshal  Berthier,  at  that  time  one  of  the 
aides  of  the  Count  de  Rochambeau. 

During  this  period  of  encampment,  Washington  formed 
the  plan  of  marching  to  Virginia  with  something  more  than 
two  thousand  of  the  American  army  and  a  part  of  the 
French  force,  in  an  attempt  to  capture  Lord  Cornwallis  and 
his  forces  at  Yorktown.  Perfect  secrecy  was  maintained 
as  to  this  change  of  plan.  Preparations  were  still  carried 
on  as  if  for  an  attack  upon  New  York.  An  extensive  en- 
campment was  marked  out  in  the  Jerseys  and  ovens  erected 
there,  and  also  in  the  southern  part  of  Westchester  County, 
and  fuel  provided  for  the  baking  of  bread,  as  if  a  part  of 
the  besieging  force  were  to  be  stationed  there. 

Several  years  afterwards  Washington  in  a  letter  to  Noah 
Webster  writes : 

"That  much  trouble  was  taken  and  finesse  used  to  misguide  and 
bewilder  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  regard  to  the  real  object  by  fictitious 
communications,  as  well  as  by  making  deceptive  provision  of  ovens, 
forage  and  boats  in  his  neighborhood  is  certain.  Nor  were  less 
pains  taken  to  deceive  our  own  army,  for  I  had  always  conceived, 
where  the  imposition  does  not  completely  take  place  at  home,  it 
would  never  sufficiently  succeed  abroad." 

The  youth  and  young  manhood  of  John  Romer  were  lived 
in  stirring  times.  Scarcely  a  day  passed  during  the  period 
covered  by  the  Revolutionary  War  but  witnessed  a  tragedy 
of  guerilla  warfare  in  the  region  surrounding  his  home.  His 
neighbors  were  despoiled  of  their  property;  some  were 
killed;  some  were  taken  prisoners;  the  burning  homes  of 
others  illumined  the  darkness  of  night.  It  is  probable  that 
only  its  isolated  position  on  Kykuit  saved  his  father's  home 
from  destruction,  for  the  fact  that  it  had  sent  forth  five 
sturdy  sons  as  members  of  the  Colonial  army  would  scarcely 
appeal  to  the  Tories  or  British  as  a  reason  why  it  should  be 
spared.     Down  in  the  valley  of  the  Sawmill  River,  the 


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CAPTAIN   JOHN   ROMER  27 

roads  afforded  easier  travel,  and  were  more  frequently  used. 
The  Van  Tassel  homes  were  situated  here,  on  level  ground, 
as  were  those  of  many  of  their  neighbors,  and  the  henroosts 
and  pigpens  of  the  valley  farmers  offered  superior  induce- 
ments to  the  Cowboy-Skinner  fraternity  than  did  those  upon 
the  rocky  heights,  which  were  more  difficult  of  access  and 
less  safe  of  approach.    On  one  occasion  a  marauding  Hes- 
sian, hiding  behind  a  large  boulder,  on  the  jarm  of  Lieu- 
tenant Van  Tassel,  was  shot  and  killed,  and  his  body  buried 
under  an  apple  tree  standing  near ;  and  later  still,  in  a  sharp 
skirmish  near  the  Van  Tassel  home,  five  more  Hessians 
were  killed  and  their  bodies  likewise  buried  under  the  same 
tree      Captain  John  Romer  told  the  tale  to  his  grandson 
John  C   L.  Hamilton,  and  pointed  out  to  him  the  place  of 
burial     The  younger  man,  to  test  the  accuracy  of  the  story, 
dug  down  and  found  the  bones  of  the  soldiers  just  where 
his  grandsire  had  located  them.    He  took  some  of  them  as 
souvenirs,  and  having  been  invited  to  prepare  and  read  a 
paper  on  "The  Allied  Armies  in  Westchester  County    be- 
fore the  New  York  Historical  Society,  did  so,  and  on  that 
occasion  exhibited  these  Hessian  bones  as  vouchers  attesting 
the  accuracy  of  his  paper,  and  likewise  the  generosity  of 
Westchester   County   in  offering  hospitable   graves   to   its 

invaders. 

Shortly  after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  John 
Romer  married  Leah  Van  Tassel,  only  daughter  of  Lieu- 
tenant Cornelius  Van  Tassel  and  Elizabeth  Storms,  his  wife 
and  then  he  and  Lieutenant  Van  Tassel,  in  1793,  erected 
upon  the  site  of  Lieutenant  Van  Tassel's  former  residence, 
that  was  burned  by  the  British  in  1777,  the  noted  stone  and 
frame  dwelling,  still  standing,  that  was  designated  and  used 
for  more  than  fifty  years  as  the  Town  House,  and  place  for 
holding  all  the  elections  and  public  meetings  of  the  Town 
of  Greenburg.  The  annual  muster  of  the  militia  for  a  large 
portion  of  the  county  was  held  here ;  also  the  meetings  of 
Solomon's  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  which  was 


28  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

organized  after  the  Revolution,  at  Mount  Pleasant.  John 
Romer  was  made  a  member  of  this  lodge  in  1800,  after 
which  it  was  moved  to  White  Plains,  and  from  there  to  the 
Van  Tassel-Romer  house  in  Greenburg.  It  was  here,  in 
1805,  that  Honorable  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  who  became 
Governor  of  the  State  and  afterward  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  was  first  admitted  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity. 

On  the  sixth  day  of  April,  1799,  John  Romer  was  com- 
missioned First  Lieutenant  in  the  Company  of  Light  In- 
fantry, Westchester  County  Militia,  commanded  by  Captain 
Isaac  Van  Wart,  one  of  Andre's  captors.  Captain  Van 
Wart  resigned  March  8,  1803,  and  Lieutenant  Romer  was 
promoted  to  the  captaincy  of  the  company,  which  was  as- 
signed to  the  southern  command,  including  New  York  and 
Long  Island.  During  Governor  Tompkins's  administration, 
Captain  Romer  took  an  active  part  in  organizing  the  various 
companies  and  battalions  of  militia  to  complete  the  several 
quotas  of  troops  called  for  by  Acts  of  Congress,  and  was  one 
of  the  first  to  engage  in  repairing  Fort  Washington,  on  the 
upper  end  of  Manhattan  Island.  He  resigned  his  captain's 
commission  June  11,  1811,  having  spent  upwards  of  twenty 
years,  all  told,  in  the  military  service  of  his  country. 

Captain  Romer  participated  actively  in  all  public  matters 
and  was  one  of  the  twenty-four  prominent  citizens  of  West- 
chester County  who  signed  the  celebrated  certificate  given 
to  Isaac  Van  Wart,  one  of  the  captors  of  Major  Andre, 
whose  character  had  been  fiercely  assailed  in  the  debate  in 
Congress  upon  the  bill  to  increase  the  pension  of  John 
Paulding,  one  of  his  associates  in  that  memorable  event. 

At  the  dedication  of  the  monument  at  Tarrytown  in  1853, 
intended  to  mark  the  place  of  capture  of  the  British  major, 
Captain  Romer,  Honorable  Henry  J.  Raymond  and  Wash- 
ington Irving  were  the  guests  of  honor,  Captain  Romer  be- 
ing the  last  Westchester  County  survivor  of  the  Revolution 
and  the  only  one  then  living  who  had  seen  Major  Andre  in 


CAPTAIN    JOHN    ROMER  29 

person.  He  had  with  him  the  pewter  basin  already  men- 
tioned. He  designated  for  the  committee  the  exact  place 
of  capture,  where  the  great  tulip  tree  formerly  stood,  and 
also  pointed  out  the  place  of  search  on  the  east  side  of  the 
present  Broadway,  and  west  of  the  little  brook.  The  owner 
of  the  property  objecting  to  locating  the  monument  upon 
the  spot  designated,  the  committee  in  charge  accepted  the 
offer  of  a  piece  of  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  highway, 
some  distance  south  of  the  actual  place  of  capture,  which 
was  generously  deeded  to  them  by  Mr.  Taylor,  formerly  a 
slave,  who  had  purchased  his  freedom  from  bondage.  Alex- 
ander Romer,  son  of  Captain  Romer,  and  also  John  L. 
Romer  and  John  C.  L.  Hamilton,  two  of  Captain  Romer's 
grandsons,  were  present  on  the  occasion  of  the  dedication 
of  the  monument. 

Captain  Romer  and  his  wife  Leah  had  a  family  of  thir- 
teen children  born  to  them,  viz :  Elizabeth,  Catherine,  Chris- 
tena,  Nancy,  Phoebe,  Angeline,  Cornelius,  Ardenas,  Hiram ; 
Alexander,  John,  Edward  and  Isaac. 

When  Lieutenant  Van  Tassel  and  Captain  John  Romer 
built  the  stone  and  frame  house  in  1793,  on  the  site  of  the 
house  burned  by  the  British,  it  became  the  home  of  Lieu- 
tenant Van  Tassel  and  Elizabeth  Storms,  his  wife,  parents 
of  Leah,  and  also  of  Captain  Jacob  Romer  and  Frena,  his 
wife,  parents  of  Captain  John,  and  also  of  Captain  John  and 
his  wife  Leah,  and  here  the  family  thus  constituted  lived  and 
died. 

A  most  interesting  home  this  must  have  been  for  the 
grandparents  and  parents  and  for  the  grandchildren — thir- 
teen of  them — who  came  to  bless  and  brighten  this  old-time 
family  circle.  What  intensely  interesting  stories  of  war,  of 
privation,  of  midnight  alarms,  of  strategy,  of  achievement, 
of  victory,  of  the  joy  of  peace,  of  restored  prosperity,  must 
have  been  told  in  twilight  hours  when  old  and  young  were 
gathered  about  the  huge  fire-place,  with  its  blazing  logs  !  and 
it  is  more  than  probable  a  few  stories  of  Indians,  witches 


30  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

and  ghosts  were  thrown  in  from  time  to  time  by  way  of 
embellishment. 

Captain  John  Romer  died  in  his  old  homestead  on  May 
27,  1855,  and  was  buried  by  Solomon's  Lodge  in  the  church- 
yard of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Greenburg,  beside  Leah, 
his  wife,  near  the  last  restingplace  of  his  lifelong  friend, 
Isaac  Van  Wart  The  funeral  services  were  conducted  by 
Reverend  Victor  M.  Hurlburt,  of  the  First  Reformed 
Church  of  Yonkers.  After  a  brief  service  at  the  house,  the 
cortege,  more  than  a  mile  in  length,  proceeded  to  the  old 
church  at  Elmsford,  the  members  of  Solomon's  Lodge 
marching  upon  either  side  of  the  hearse.  Reverend  Mr. 
Hurlburt,  after  reading  selections  from  the  Scriptures, 
chose  a  part  of  the  31st  verse  of  chapter  49  of  Genesis, 
"There  I  buried  Leah,"  as  a  basis  for  an  eloquent  address, 
which  was  followed  by  the  Masonic  burial  rites  about  the 
open  grave  in  the  adjoining  churchyard. 


I 


There's  naught  hut  what's  pood  to  he  under- 
stood hy  afne  and  accepted  Mason. 

Capt.  JOHN  HOMER, 

BORJV 
NOV.    lO,  01764:, 
DIED  ' 

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HE  AIDED  ANDRE'S  CAPTORS. 


Captain  John  Romer,  who  died  in  1855,  Westchester's 
Last  Revolutionary  Soldier. 


Joined  the  Continental  Army  when  only  a  boy — later,  in  the 
War  of  1812,  he  once  wore  served  his  Country. 


The  last  surviving  soldier  of  the  Revolution  living  in 
Westchester  County  died  in  1855.  He  was  John  Romer,  a 
son  of  Jacob  Romer,  and  was  born  on  November  10,  1764, 
in  the  place  now  called  East  View,  in  the  town  of  Green- 
burg,  three  miles  east  of  Tarrytown.  John  Romer  and  his 
four  elder  brothers  were  private  soldiers  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  The  captors  of  Major  Andre — Williams, 
Paulding  and  Van  Wart— together  with  James  Romer,  one 
of  the  five  brothers,  Yerkes,  Dean  and  See,  obtained  their 
breakfast  at  the  house  of  Jacob  Romer  on  the  morning 
of  the  capture,  and  there  they  had  a  luncheon  prepared, 
which  they  carried  away  in  a  pewter  basin.  On  their  way 
to  the  Tarrytown  Post  Roads  they  stopped  at  the  house 
of  Archer  Read  and  obtained  a  pack  of  cards,  after  which 
they  proceeded  to  the  places  of  their  concealment— three 
taking  places  near  the  famous  tulip  tree,  upon  the  new 
Post  Road,  and  the  other  four  remaining  to  guard  the 

31 


32  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

old  Post  Road,  about  six  hundred  feet  distant.  After  the 
capture  the  three  led  Andre  up  to  where  the  others  were 
stationed,  and  then  the  whole  party  proceeded  directly 
to  the  house  of  Jacob  Romer,  where  they  remained  and 
had  their  dinner.  In  their  hurry  to  get  Andre  away  from 
the  public  highway,  the  captors  forgot  the  basin  above 
mentioned  containing  their  lunch,  and  while  dinner  was 
being  prepared,  John  Romer,  then  a  lad  sixteen  years  old, 
was  sent  after  it.  Upon  his  return  he  accompanied  the 
party  to  Colonel  Sheldon's  headquarters  in  North  Castle, 
their  route  lying  across  lots  and  through  the  woods,  in 
order  to  avoid  the  highways  as  much  as  possible.  This  is 
briefly  the  story  of  the  capture  of  Andre  as  told  by  John 
Romer  many  years  afterwards.  He  was  selected  in  1853 
by  the  Monument  Association  to  identify  the  exact  spot 
where  the  capture  took  place,  and  selected  a  spot  east  of 
the  present  Post  Road  at  Tarrytown.  The  monument 
was  erected  on  the  west  side,  because  the  property  where 
the  capture  really  took  place  could  not  be  obtained  for  the 
purpose. 

After  the  Revolution,  John  Romer  married  Leah,  daugh- 
ter of  Cornelius  Van  Tassel,  a  lieutenant  in  the  war  in 
Colonel  Drake's  Regiment  of  Militia,  organized  October 
23,  1775.  Through  his  wife,  John  Romer  became  possessed 
of  the  Van  Tassel  farm,  at  Elmsford,  upon  which  he  built 
the  house  long  afterwards  used  as  the  Greenburg  Town 
House.  This  house  was  erected  upon  the  site  of  the  Van 
Tassel  house,  burned  by  the  British  in  1777,  Leah,  then 
an  infant,  and  her  mother  being  turned  out  into  the  cold 
of  a  November  night  that  the  structure  might  be  destroyed. 
Captain  Romer  was  one  of  the  prominent  Free  Masons  of 
the  county  in  his  day,  having  been  admitted  to  Solomon's 
Lodge,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  in  1800.  Solomon's  Lodge,  at 
that  time,  was  in  the  settlement  called  Sparta,  now  a  suburb 
of  Sing  Sing.  Afterwards  the  Lodge  was  moved  to  White 
Plains ;  then  it  was  moved  to  Elmsford,  and  then  under  a 


HE   AIDED  ANDREWS   CAPTORS  83 


reorganized  charter  it  was  placed  in  Tarrytown,  where  it 
has  remained  and  flourished  for  many  years. 

In  1853,  at  the  dedication  of  the  monument  to  the  captors 
of  Major  Andre,  at  Tarrytown,  John  Romer  was  a  guest 
of  honor  as  one  of  the  few  survivors  of  the  Revolutionary 
soldiers.  He  died  at  Elmsford  on  May  27,  1855,  ninety 
years  and  six  months  old,  and  was  buried  in  the  churchyard 
of  the  Reformed  Church  in  that  place,  not  far  from  the 
grave  of  Isaac  Van  Wart. 

John  Romer  seems  to  have  been  particularly  happy  in 
having  possessed  during  his  life  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
all  those  who  knew  him.  All  the  local  traditions  and  reports 
concerning  him  indicate  that  he  was  kind,  honest  and  up- 
right, a  good  citizen  and  a  pleasant  neighbor.  The  fact 
that  he  was  a  soldier  at  sixteen  and  again  at  the  age  of  forty- 
eight,  serving  his  country  at  the  two  extremes  of  life,  as 
it  were,  is  sufficient  indication  that  in  patriotism  he  was 
a  worthy  representative  of  the  Westchester  county  yeoman, 
whose  fidelity,  perseverance  and  endurance  did  so  much 
for  the  cause  of  American  liberty  in  "the  days  that  tried 
men's  souls."  —New  York  Tribune,  July  6,  1896 . 


ABRAHAM   MARTLING. 


Abraham  Martling  lived  on  Beaver  Hill,  overlooking  the 
Sawmill  River  Valley.  He  was  born  about  the  year  1763, 
and  in  1784  was  married  to  Frena  Romer,  daughter  of  Jacob 
and  Frena  Romer. 

Previous  to  their  marriage  he  was  for  a  time  a  member  of 
one  of  the  militia  regiments,  and  later,  served  in  the  Con- 
tinental Line.  In  November,  1777,  he,  with  several  other 
men  of  the  Sawmill  River  neighborhood,  desiring  to  avenge 
the  destruction  of  the  Van  Tassel  homes,  burned  by  the 
British  a  few  nights  previously,  went  to  the  cove  at  Wolf- 
ert's  Roost,  where  the  Water  Guard  kept  their  boats,  where 
others  joined  them,  manned  one  or  more  of  the  boats 
and  proceeded  swiftly  and  silently  down  the  Hudson  to 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  where  they  succeeded  in  passing  the 
British  Guard  boats  without  being  observed,  and  then  went 
to  the  landing  place  near  the  foot  of  the  present  92nd  Street, 
in  New  York  City.  Here  they  landed  and  climbed  the 
cliffs,  and  went  on  to  the  residence  of  General  Oliver 
Delancey,  on  the  old  Bloomingdale  Road.  The  home  was 
feebly  defended,  and  the  party  obtained  possession  without 
trouble.  Taking  such  articles  as  they  could  readily  carry, 
they  set  the  house  on  fire,  and  hurried  back  to  their  boats. 
Keeping  within  the  shadow  of  the  hills,  they  rowed  swiftly 
back  to  the  Hudson  and  across  it  to  the  dark  shadows  of 
the  Palisades.  Here  they  abandoned  their  boats  and  made 
their  way  along  the  shore  to  a  point  nearly  opposite  Wolf- 
ert's  Roost — their  starting  place.    On  the  return  trip  Abra- 

34 


ABRAHAM  MARTLING  35 

ham  Martling  carried  on  his  back  a  massive  pair  of  brass 
andirons,  as  a  souvenir  of  the  night's  events. 

In  1779,  Martling  enlisted  in  Captain  Schaffer's  company 
■of  Colonel  Armand's  regiment  of  the  New  York  Line,  and 
served  throughout  the  war,  being  at  the  battle  of  York- 
town  when  Lord  Cornwallis  surrendered. 

Upon  his  marriage  with  Fanny  Romer  in  1784,  he  ob- 
tained a  few  acres  of  ground  upon  the  extreme  westerly 
end  of  the  farm  of  Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel  and 
John  Romer,  his  brother-in-law.  Here  he  erected  a  small 
dwelling  up  against  the  rocks,  set  out  some  fruit  trees,  and 
cultivated  what  little  of  the  soil  was  available.  Late  in 
life  he  applied  to  the  Government  for  a  pension.  In  his 
petition,  after  setting  forth  his  military  services,  he  stated 
that  he  was  extremely  poor ;  that  his  debts  amounted  to  five 
pounds;  his  cash  in  hand  was  fifty  cents;  that  his  real 
estate  consisted  of  a  few  acres  of  mossy  rock;  that  his 
dwelling  was  a  hole  in  the  ground  with  a  roof  over  it,  etc. 

He  got  his  pension.  He  died  in  that  humble  abode  at 
12  :15  o'clock,  A.  M.,  January  1,  1841,  92  years  of  age,  as 
stated  by  his  nearest  neighbor,  Isaac  Conkling,  who  was 
with  him  in  his  last  moments.  He  was  buried  near  the 
grave  of  Captain  John  Romer,  in  Elmsford  Cemetery. 

His  widow,  Fanny  Romer  Martling,  applied  for  a  pen- 
sion in  December,  1846.  She  died  in  1850,  and  was  buried 
in  Rockland  County. 


CHRISTINA  VAN  WORMER  ROMER. 


Christina  Van  Wormer,  daughter  of  Adrianus  Van 
Wormer  and  his  wife  Hannatje  Van  Tassel,  was  born  in 
Phillips  Manor  July  21,  1752 ;  was  baptized  at  the  old  Dutch 
church,  September  6,  1758,  with  Dirck  Van  Tassel  and  wife 
as  sponsors ;  was  married  to  Hendrick  Romer,  Jr.,  February 
26,  1777 ;  died  August  31,  1856,  aged  104  years ;  buried  be- 
side her  husband  in  the  Romer  plot  in  the  old  Dutch  church- 
yard. She  was  a  member  of  this  church,  but  in  her  later 
years  she  attended  church  at  Elmsford,  where  her  funeral 
services  were  held,  Reverend  Abel  T.  Stewart  officiating. 

Mrs.  Romer's  husband,  Hendrick  Romer,  was  first  a 
member  of  the  local  militia,  and  afterwards  enlisted  in 
the  Continental  Line,  leaving  her  with  only  a  young 
brother  and  a  slave  in  charge  of  the  farm.  She 
was  an  ardent  patriot,  and  possessed  a  strong  love  for 
her  country.  When  conversing  afterwards  upon  the  scenes 
and  events  of  the  war,  she  would  become  greatly  animated 
— too  much  so  to  express  herself  in  the  English  language, 
so  would  take  up  the  Dutch,  which  was  familiar  to  her, 
and  give  forcible  expression  to  her  sentiments  in  approba- 
tion of  her  countrymen,  and  in  detestation  of  the  conduct 
of  the  enemy.  Her  auditors  would  be  sensibly  moved  by 
her  earnestness  and  would  realize  the  spirit  of  the  men  and 
women  who  participated  in  the  struggles  and  sufferings  of 
the  war.  No  one  could  forget  her  manner  when  at  the  age 
of  100  years,  her  face  brightened  with  laughter,  yet  her 
eyes  suffused  with  tears,  she  told  of  how  a  party  of  British 

36 


CHRISTINA  VAN  WORMER  ROMER  37 

troops,  taking  possession  for  several  days  of  her  home, 
compelled  her  to  bake  bread  for  them,  and  how,  several 
Americans  having  concealed  themselves  in  the  rocky  fastness 
of  Farcus  Hott,  nearby,  her  husband  among  them,  she 
would,  whenever  opportunity  offered,  catch  up  a  loaf  under 
her  short  gown  and  run  out  and  throw  it  to  her  friends 
under  the  rock. 

Possessing  a  rugged  constitution,  her  health  remained 
good  almost  to  the  last.  She  kept  her  own  apartments, 
boiled  her  own  kettle,  maintained  her  own  table,  and  until 
a  short  time  before  her  death,  would  walk  a  mile  or  more 
to  the  grocery  to  obtain  her  supplies.  She  was  very  com- 
panionable, especially  with  those  who  could  speak  the  Dutch 
language.  Her  Dutch  Bible  was  ever  within  her  reach, 
and  she  seemed  to  know  its  great  truths  as  she  did  her 
alphabet. 

Her  husband,  Hendrick  Romer,  died  July  23,  1831,  aged 
79  years. 


JAN  CORNELIUS  VAN  TEXELL  (VAN  TASSEL.) 


Jan  Cornelius  Van  Texell  was  the  first  of  that  name 
among  the  earliest  Dutch  settlers  coming  to  New  Nether- 
lands. He  was  one  of  the  well-known  Van  Texell  family,  of 
Holland,  and  emigrated  to  this  country  about  the  year  1630. 

Sometime  after  his  arrival,  Wyandanee,  Sachem  of  Long 
Island,  gave  him  his  (Wyandance's)  daughter  in  marriage, 
she  being  one  of  the  fourteen  Indian  women  taken  into 
captivity  by  Ninigret,  chief  of  the  Narragansetts,  and  after- 
wards ransomed  through  the  good  offices  of  Lion  Gardiner. 

Of  this  marriage,  one  son  was  born,  named  after  his 
father,  Jan  Cornelius  Van  Texell.  He  was  baptized  in 
the  Dutch  Church  within  Fort  Amsterdam  on  Manhattan 
Island.    This  son  was  married  in  1657  in  New  Amsterdam 

to  Antje .    They  had  seven  children,  named  Cornelius, 

Jacob,  Jan,  William,  Catherine  (who  married  Hendrick 
Lent),  Margaret  (who  married  Pieter  Storm),  and  Sarah 
(who  married  Barent  de  Wit) .  These  children  were  all  bap- 
tized in  the  first  Dutch  Church  within  Fort  Amsterdam. 
This  family  afterwards  moved  from  New  Amsterdam  and 
settled  in  the  Indian  town  of  Appamacpo,  in  Westchester 
county,  which  became  a  part  of  the  manor  of  Cortland. 
The  farm  occupied  by  Jan  Cornelius  Van  Texell,  2nd,  com- 
prised nearly  the  whole  of  the  village  of  Sing  Sing.  He  was 
quite  a  prominent  man  in  that  neighborhood.  He  was 
appointed  tax  collector,  and  for  a  number  of  years  prior 
to  1700,  collected  the  taxes  from  this  particular  town  and 

38 


JAN   CORNELIUS   VAN   TASSEL  39 

paid  them  over  to  Chidley  Brook,  the  colonial  treasurer, 
as  shown  by  the  following  receipts: 

"Received  from  John  Cornelius  Van  Texell  by  the  hands  of  Col. 
Stephen  Van  Cortland,  the  sum  of  nine  pounds,  out  of  the  four  first 
taxes,  and  of  such  proportion  of  the  same  as  becomes  payable  out  of 
Westchester  County  and  Town  of  Appamacpo. 

"I  say  received  this  31st  day  of  July,  1694. 

"Chidley  Brook,  Collector." 

"Received  from  John  Van  Texell  by  the  hands  of  Col.  Stephen 
Van  Cortland,  the  sum  of  four  pounds  ten  shillings  out  of  the  six 
thousand  pounds  tax,  and  of  such  proportion  of  the  same  as  becomes 
payable  out  of  Westchester  County  and  Town  of  Appamacpo.. 

"I  say  received  this  26th  of  August,  1694. 

"Chidley  Brook,  Collector." 

Jan  Cornelius  Van  Texell,  wife  Antje,  and  their  seven 
children,  were  in  the  year  1697,  all  members  of  the  old 
Dutch  Church  in  Sleepy  Hollow.  One  of  his  sons,  Cor- 
nelius, married  a  woman  named  Antje,  which  was  also  his 
mother's  name,  and  they  settled  in  Phillipsburg,  on  a  farm, 
being  a  part  of  the  Phillips  Manor,  and  situated  in  the  Saw- 
mill River  Valley,  containing  about  200  acres  of  land, 
located  about  one  mile  south  of  the  present  village  of  Elms- 
ford.  Of  this  marriage  a  son  was  born,  named  Dirck, 
who  was  baptized  April  24,  1699.  He  married  Christina 
Buise,  and  had  a  son  named  Cornelius,  baptized  April  1, 
1735.  This  son  was  later  Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel, 
of  the  Revolution. 

Jan  Cornelius  Van  Tassel,  2d,  had  a  son  Jan,  and  he  also 
had  a  son  named  Jan,  being  a  great-grandson  of  Catoneras. 
This  last-named  Jan  settled  on  a  farm  in  Phillips  Manor, 
near  Tarrytown.  When  the  first  public  highway  to  Albany 
was  laid  out  in  1723,  his  house  was  the  first  house  men- 
tioned on  the  route  of  the  highway,  south  of  the  old 
Dutch  Church,  and  next  south  of  this  Van  Tassel  house 
was  the  house  of  Abraham  Martling.  This  Jan  Van  Tassel 
was  the  first  sexton  mentioned  in  the  records  of  the  old 


40  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

Dutch  church  at  Sleepy  Hollow,  he  having  been  ap- 
pointed to  march  at  the  head  of  the  cortege,  in  the  absence 
of  the  minister,  on  funeral  occasions.  The  Washington 
Irving  High  School  now  stands  on  a  part  of  the  farm  then 
occupied  by  Sexton  Jan  Van  Tassel. 

Wyandance,  the  great  sachem  of  Long  Island,  died  in 
1659.  His  daughter,  known  after  her  marriage  to  Van 
Texell  as  Catoneras,  did  not  long  survive  her  father.  In 
1705,  her  grandchildren,  desiring  to  have  the  Colonial 
authorities  grant  to  them  a  patent  of  lands  on  Long  Island, 
of  the  dimensions  of  four  miles  by  six,  which  Catoneras 
inherited  from  her  father,  petitioned  the  Governor  and 
council  as  follows: 

FIRST  PETITION. 

1705. 

To  his  Excellency  Edward  Viscount  Corn- 
bury  Cap*  Gen11  &  Govr  in  Chief  in  and 
over  her  Majesties  Provinces  of  New  York 
&  New  Jerseys  and  Vice  Admirall  of  the 
Same  in  Councill — 

The  humble  Peticon  of  Cornelis  van  Texell  Jacob  Van  Texell, 
Jan  Van  Texell  &  Willem  van  Texell  Sonns  of  Jan  Cornelisse  van 
Texell  latr  Deceased  and  Hendrick  Lent  husband  of  Catharin  one 
of  the  Daughters  of  the  said  John,  Barent  DeWit  husband  of 
Sarah  another  of  the  Daughters  of  the  said  John,  and  Pieter  Storm 
husband  of  Margaret  allso  a  Daughter  of  the  said  John, — Humbly 
Sheweth 

That  whereas  yor  Petrs  father  as  heir  to  his  mother  Catonoras  a 
native  Indian  of  the  Island  of  Nassauw  who  in  her  life  time  was 
Seized  of  a  certain  Tract  or  parcell  of  land  lying  and  being  on  the 
Island  aforesaid  now  in  the  County  of  Suffolk  neer  the  Town  of 
Huntington  called  by  the  natives  Anendeiack  in  English  Eader 
necks  beach  and  so  allong  the  Sound  four  miles  or  thereabouts  un- 
till  the  fresh  Pond  called  by  the  natives  Assawanama  where  a 
Creeck  runns  into  the  Sound  and  from  the  Sound  running  into  the 
woods  Six  miles  or  thereabouts  And  yor  Petrs  being  all  Christians 
and  professing  the  holy  Protestant  Religion  and  knowing  that  tho 
the  heathen  were  never  disturbed  in  the  Peaceable  possession  of 
their  lands  &  Inheritances  in  this  Governm*  yor  Petrs  as  Christians 
would  allso  very  willingly  hold  the  Same  by  her  Majesties  Letters 
Pettent  under  the  Seal  of  this  Province. 


JAN   CORNELIUS   VAN   TASSEL  41 


Yor  Petrs  therefore  humbly  Pray  yor  Ex- 
cellency to  grant  them  a  Pattent  for  the  land 
aforesaid  Accordingly. 

And  yor  Petrs  as  in  Duty  bound  shall  Ever 
Pray  &c. 

Cornelis  Van  Texel 
the  Mark  of 
X 
Jacob  van  Texell 
Jan  Van  Texel 
Willen  van  Texel 

The  marke  of 

S 
Hendrick  Lent 
Barent  de  Wit 
The  mark  of 

P  S 
Pieter  Storm 
(Endorsed) 

Petition  of  Cornelis  van  Texell 
and  others. 

30  July  1705.    Read,  to  lye  upon  ye  Table. 

Probably  no  action  was  taken  under  this  first  petition; 
so  in  1713,  the  grandchildren  presented  a  second  petition, 
on  which  an  order  was  granted,  referring  the  matter  to 
a  Committee  or  Official  Board,  to  consider  and  report 
whether  a  survey  of  the  lands  should  be  made,  and  in  due 
season  a  report  was  filed  in  favor  of  such  a  survey,  viz : 

SECOND  PETITION. 

1713. 

To  his  Excellency  Robert  Hunter  Esqr 
Cap*  Gen11  &  Govr  in  Chief  in  and  over  her 
Maties  Provinces  of  New  York  and  New  Jer- 
sey and  the  Territories  depending  thereon  in 
America  and  Vice  Admirall  of  the  Same  And 
the  Honbl  Councill  of  the  Province  of  New 
York— 

The  humble  Peticon  of  Cornelis  Van  Texell  Jacob  van  Texell, 
Jan  van  Texell  William  van  Texell,  Catarin  Lent,  Barent  De  Wit 
and  Pieter  Storm  all  Children  and  Coheirs  of  Jan  Cornelis  van 
Texell  late  deceased 

Most  humble  Sheweth 

That  yor  Petitionrs  Said  fathers  mother  was  an  Indian  native 
Sachem  in  this  Province  called  Catoneras  on  the  Island  Nassauw 


42  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

then  called  Long  Island  and  her  relacons  being  owners  of  Sundry 
large  Tracts  of  land  on  the  said  Island  did  give  unto  the  Said 
Catoneras  the  Pet™  grandmother  in  part  of  her  fathers  Inheritance 
a  Certain  Tract  of  Land  called  Crap  Meadow  Scituate  on  the 
Island  aforesaid  in  Suffolk  County  running  along  the  Sound  four 
Miles  and  Six  miles  into  the  woods  or  thereabouts.  And  yor 
Petrs  being  all  Christians  and  members  of  the  Protestant  Church 
and  being  willing  to  enjoy  their  Inheritance  by  Patent  under  the 
Crown  as  all  other  her  Majasties  Subiets  of  this  Province  do  enjoy 
and  hold  their  lands 

They  therefore  do  most  humbly  pray  that 
they  may  have  a  Warrant  to  the  Surveyor 
Generall  of  this  Province  to  lay  out  the  said 
Tract  of  Land  for  yor  Petition1"8  &  that  upon 
the  return  thereof  they  may  have  a  Patent  un- 
der the  great  Seale  of  this  Province  under 
Such  moderate  Quitrent  as  to  yor  Excy  and 
yor  hono1-8  shall  seem  meet. 

And  yor  Petrs  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever 
Pray  etc. 

New  York  15th  May  1713. 

Cornells  Van  Texel 
Jacob  vn   Texel 
Johannes  Van  Texel 
May  it  please  yr  Excy 

In  obedience  to  your  Excys  order  in  Council  of  the  21st  of  May 
last  we  have  Considerd  the  aforewritten  peticon  of  Cornells  Van 
Texell  and  others  and  are  humbly  of  opinion  yr  Excy  may  Grant  the 
Warrt  of  Survey  therein  peticoned  for  all  which  is  nevertheless 
humbly  submitted  by 

Yr  Excys  most  obed*  humble   Servts 
N.  York  Aprill 
16th  1714 

A.  D :  Peyster 
S :  Staats 
Rip  Van  Dam 
Caleb  Heathcote 
John  Barberie 
J.  Byerley 
(Endorsed) 

The  Petition  of  Cornells  Van  Texell  &  ors, 
21st  of  May  1713  read  &  referred  to 
The  Gentn  of  this  Board  or  any  five  of  them. 

Jan  Cornelius  Van  Tassel,  Sr.,  was  selected  to  represent 
the  Long  Island  Indians  before  Commissioners  appointed 
to  settle  the  wars  between  the  Pequots,  Narragansetts  and 
other  tribes  and  was  present  at  meetings  of  the  Commission- 
ers held  at  Boston  and  elsewhere.  No  record  has  been 
found  as  to  date  of  decease  or  place  of  burial. 


LIEUTENANT  CORNELIUS  VAN  TASSEL. 


Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel,  of  the  South  Battalion 
First  Regiment,  of  Westchester  militia,  of  Revolutionary 
days,  commanded  by  Colonel  Drake,  was  a  lineal  descend- 
ant of  the  noted  Van  Texel  family  of  Holland.  His  an- 
cestor, Jan  Cornelius  Van  Texel  being  one  of  the  first 
to  emigrate  when  it  was  decided  to  occupy  and  settle  New 
Netherlands. 

Jan  Cornelius  Van  Texel,  the  immigrant,  married,  shortly 
after  his  arrival,  Catoneras,  the  daughter  of  an  Indian 
Chief,  named  Wyandance,  of  the  Montauk  Tribe  of  In- 
dians, living  on  Long  Island.  Of  that  union  a  son  was 
born,  who  was  named  after  his  father,  Jan  Cornelius  Van 

Tassel.  This  son  married  Antje and  had  seven  children. 

Himself,  wife  and  their  seven  children  were  in  the  year 
1697,  all  members  of  the  old  Dutch  Church,  in  Sleepy 
Hollow.  One  of  his  sons  was  also  named  Cornelius  Van 
Tassel,  who  married  a  woman  named  Antje,  likewise,  and 
they  settled  in  Phillipsburg.  The  members  of  the  Van  Tas- 
sel family  had  at  a  very  early  date  become  so  numerous 
that  it  was  customary  to  designate  the  various  branches 
by  special  names,  such  as  "Gentleman  Bill,"  "Cooper  Bill," 
"Crazy  Pete,"  "Weaver  John,"  and  one  "Devil  Bill,"  etc., 
saints,  sinners  and  patriots. 

The  farm  which  this  Cornelius  Van  Tassel  and  family 
occupied  as  a  tenant  of  the  Phillipses,  was  situated  along 
the  Sawmill  River,  and  comprised  about  200  acres  of 
land.     It  is  located  about  one  mile  south  of  the  present 


43 


44  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

village  of  Elms  ford.  The  adjoining  farm  on  the  south 
was  occupied  by  Peter  Van  Tassel,  a  member  of  the  County 
Committee  of  Safety  for  the  year  1777,  while  the  farm 
■on  the  west  extended  to  the  Hudson  River  and  was  occupied 
by  Captain  Jacob  Van  Tassel,  a  relative  of  Lieutenant 
Cornelius.  The  house  of  Captain  Jacob  was  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Water  Guard  which  Washington  Irving 
has  made  famous  in  his  Wolfert's  Roost,  which  was  pur- 
chased by  Mr.  Irving  and  occupied  by  him  as  his  home 
under  the  name  of  "Sunnyside." 

This  Cornelius  had  a  son  named  Dirck,  who  married 
Christina  Buise,  and  had  a  son  Cornelius,  who  was  baptized 
April  1,  1735.  This  son  was  a  lieutenant  of  the  Revo- 
lution and  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Storms,  October  16,  1756,  and  had  two  children,  Cornelius 
baptized  April  24,  1759,  and  Leah,  born  May  20, 
and  baptized  June  17,  1775.  Cornelius,  the  son,  was  a 
celebrated  rifleman  and  a  member  of  the  First  Colonial 
Westchester  Regiment.  He  escaped  capture  by  the  British 
Dragoons,  commanded  by  Captains  Emerick  and  Barnes 
on  the  night  of  November  17,  1777,  when  his  father's 
house  was  burned,  and  he,  the  father.  Lieutenant  Van 
Tassel,  taken  prisoner.  Cornelius,  the  son,  died  January 
3,  1780,  as  the  result  of  his  exposure  at  the  time  of  his 
father's  capture.  Mary,  a  sister  of  Lieutenant  Van  Tassel, 
married  Lieutenant  Zybout  Acker,  Jr.,  a  grandson  of  Wol- 
fert,  first  owner  of  the  Roost. 

Leah  Van  Tassel,  the  infant  daughter  of  Lieutenant  Cor- 
nelius Van  Tassel,  who,  with  her  mother,  was  driven  out 
of  the  burning  house,  subsequently,  after  the  Revolution, 
married  John  Romer,  later  known  as  Captain  John  (son 
of  Jacob  and  Frena  Romer),  who  was  born  November  10, 
1764,  in  what  is  now  called  "East  View,"— three  miles 
east  of  Tarrytown.  Leah  died  January  2,  1843,  and  is 
buried  in  Greenburg  churchyard. 

Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel  was  elected  an  officer 


LIEUTENANT   CORNELIUS  VAN  TASSEL  45 

of  one  of  the  four  companies  organized  in  the  upper  Manor 
of  Phillipsburg,  and  was  commissioned  by  the  Provincial 
Congress  in  session  in  New  York,  and  assigned  to  the  Tarry- 
town  Company  First  Regiment  of  Westchester  County 
Militia,  under  date  of  September  2,  1775,  this  being  the 
earliest  mention  of  the  name  Tarrytown  yet  discovered. 

Prior  to  the  Revolution,  he  was  one  of  the  most  extensive 
and  prosperous  farmers  in  the  Sawmill  River  Valley. 

In  those  early  times  it  was  customary  for  well-to-do 
farmers  to  tan  their  own  leather,  which  was  generally  made 
up  once  a  year  into  shoes  and  foot  gear  by  a  peripatetic 
cobbler,  who  boarded  around  among  his  customers  for 
various  periods  of  time,  according  to  the  size  of  the  family. 
In  order  to  prevent  the  Tories  from  carrying  off  the 
leather,  he  caused  the  vats  to  be  secreted  beside  a  brook 
in  a  dense  thicket  of  brush  and  vines,  upon  a  portion  of 
his  farm.  The  enemy  came  very  near  discovering  their  loca- 
tion, as  they  were  about  to  refresh  themselves  from  the 
brook,  but  they  fortunately  became  engaged  in  wrangling 
over  a  bottle  of  rum,  which  was  accidentally  broken  in  the 
melee,  which,  from  that  incident,  has  since  been  known  as 
"Rum  Brook,"  and  that  name  was  given  to  it  in  the  deeds 
describing  the  property  in  the  year  1785. 

Although  Lieutenant  Cornelius  lost  everything  by  the 
ravages  of  war,  including  his  only  son,  he  managed,  at  its 
close,  to  purchase  from  the  Commissioners  of  Forfeiture 
the  Sawmill  River  Farm  occupied  by  his  ancestors  and 
himself  as  tenants  under  the  Phillipses,  and  recovered  in 
some  degree  from  his  losses,  but  found  himself  unable  to 
rebuild  his  house  until  his  daughter,  Leah,  married  John 
Romer.  He  then,  joining  hands  with  his  son-in-law,  erected, 
in  1793,  a  new  substantial  stone  and  frame  house  upon  the 
site  of  his  old  home,  burned  by  the  British  in  1777,  and 
in  his  new  home  Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel  and  his 
wife  Elizabeth,  Captain  Jacob  Romer  and  wife  Frena,  and 
Captain  John  Romer  and  wife  Leah,  lived  and  died. 


46  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

James  Delancy,  the  Tory  sheriff  of  the  county,  was  the 
colonel  of  a  Westchester  county  regiment  of  militia  that 
had  been  organized  for  a  number  of  years  before  the  Revo- 
lution. Many  of  the  members  of  that  regiment  who  had 
joined  it  before  the  war,  were  subsequently  enrolled  as 
members  of  the  South  Battalion  of  Westchester  County 
Patriots  in  the  latter  militia  regiment  organized  to  defend 
the  colony  against  British  oppression.  These  members  of 
the  new  Colonial  regiment  were  looked  upon  by  the  British 
as  deserters.  A  certain  Colonial  act  of  enrollment  required 
that  in  each  militia  precinct,  all  persons  resident  therein 
sixteen  years  of  age  and  upwards,  should  be  enrolled  as 
being  subject  to  military  duty.  The  officers  charged  with 
the  duty  of  making  this  enrollment  in  some  cases  de- 
scribed the  persons  enrolled  as  including  all  "Whigs,  Tories, 
sick,  lame,  lazy  and  distrest."  The  enforcement  of  this 
enrollment  act  devolved  principally  upon  the  members  of 
the  Committee  of  Safety,  and  the  performance  of  their 
duties  rendered  them  particularly  obnoxious  to  the  Tories. 

The  Tory  Governor  Tryon,  in  command  at  King's  Bridge, 
directed  Colonel  Delancey  to  form  a  company  out  of  his 
regiment  which  were  called  "Rangers."  They  were 
mounted,  and  the  governor  to  stimulate  enlistments  in  that 
branch  of  the  service,  offered  to  the  men  of  that  command 
a  reward  of  twenty-five  dollars  for  the  capture  of  every 
Committeeman  of  Safety,  and  five  dollars  each  for  every 
so-called  deserter.  This  command  soon  grew  to  be  a  very 
effective  force.  It  was  given  the  name  of  Cow  Boys,  as 
their  thorough  knowledge  of  the  roads  and  county  was  a 
great  help  to  them  in  the  particular  line  of  cattle  capture. 

On  November  17,  1777,  Governor  Tryon  directed  Cap- 
tains Emerick  and  Barnes  of  his  cavalry  to  carry  out  his 
instructions  in  respect  to  the  arrest  of  committeemen  and 
deserters.  They  went  out  on  such  an  errand  and  succeeded 
in  taking  Committeeman  Peter  Van  Tassel  and  Lieutenant 
Cornelius  Van  Tassel  prisoners  and  burned  their  dwellings 


FARCUS  HOTT 


LIEUTENANT   CORNELIUS   VAN  TASSEL  47 

and  barns.  Captain  John  Romer  gives  the  following  ac- 
count of  the  affair: 

"The  night  on  which  the  houses  were  surprised  and  burned  was 
one  of  the  coldest  of  the  season.  Lieutenant  Van  Tassel,  on  the 
first  alarm,  sprang  from  the  window  and  tried  to  escape,  being  al- 
most naked.  He  was  taken  prisoner,  but  never  recovered  from  the 
exposure  of  that  night.  The  Tory  captain  Joshua  Barnes,  acted  as 
guide  for  Emerick  that  night,  and  his  voice  was  heard  above  the 

tumult :     'The  houses  are  both  owned  by  d d  rebels,  burn  them.' 

My  wife  Leah  Van  Tassel,  was  the  only  daughter  of  Cornelius,  and 
she  was  the  infant  taken  out  of  the  house  in  a  blanket  by  a  soldier, 
laid  on  the  snow,  and  the  mother,  distracted,  was  seeking  her  babe, 
when  he  told  her  where  the  child  was.  The  only  son,  Cornelius, 
Jr.,  fled  for  safety,  half  naked,  to  the  roof  of  the  house  and  held 
on  by  the  chimney,  from  which,  when  the  fire  began  to  reach  him, 
he  jumped  to  the  ground.  He  escaped  that  night,  but  caught  cold 
from  which  he  never  recovered." 

Another  account  states  that  Cornelius,  Jr.,  escaped  cap- 
ture on  this  occasion  by  concealing  his  head  and  face  with 
a  blanket,  and  assisting  the  British  in  carrying  out  the 
furniture  from  the  burning  dwelling  until  he  could  get  far 
enough  away  in  the  darkness  to  make  his  escape  by  running 
to  the  Sawmill  River  with  the  British  in  full  chase,  as  far 
as  the  little  stream,  which  they  found  frozen  over  but  were 
unable  to  cross  without  breaking  their  way  through  the 
ice.  This  is  what  the  fleeing  Cornelius  had  done  and  was 
well  on  his  way  toward  the  Farcus  Hott,  the  patriots' 
place  of  shelter  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  now  called  Beaver 
Mountain,  overlooking  the  Van  Tassel  home.  Returning 
from  the  chase,  the  British  gathered  the  horses  and  cattle 
of  their  captives,  Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel  and 
Peter,  his  neighbor,  and  having  tied  the  hands  of  the  pris- 
oners to  their  horses'  tails,  compelled  them  to  drive  the  herd 
to  the  Tory  camp  at  King's  Bridge. 

In  the  meantime,  one  of  the  British  soldiers,  more  humane 
than  the  others,  procured,  from  the  loot  of  the  burning 
house,  a  blanket,  (some  accounts  say  it  was  a  feather  bed), 
to  cover  Mrs.  Van  Tassel  and  her  child,  who  had  been 
placed  on  the  frozen  ground  beside  the  little  brook  only 
a  little  way  west  df  the  smoking  ruins.    After  the  crew  left 


48  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

on  their  return  march,  Mrs.  Van  Tassel  and  her  daughter 
took  refuge  in  a  dirt  cellar,  where  she  remained  sometime 
until  aroused  by  the  whinny  of  a  favorite  horse,  which 
had  broken  away  from  the  herd  and  returned  to  its  home. 
Mounting  this  horse,  she  rode  away  to  her  father's  house. 
This  outrage  on  the  part  of  the  British  and  Tories,  caused 
great  excitement  and  indignation  throughout  all  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  was  the  subject  of  sharp  correspondence  be- 
tween the  commanders  of  the  opposing  forces. 

General  Samuel  H.  Parsons,  then  in  command,  sent  from 
his  headquarters  at  Mamaroneck,  November  21,  1777,  the 
following  letter  by  flag  of  truce  to  Governor  Tryon,  com- 
manding the  British  forces  at  King's  Bridge: 

"Sir  : — Adding  to  the  natural  horrors  of  war,  the  most  wanton 
destruction  of  property,  is  an  act  of  cruelty  unknown  to  civilized 
nations  and  unaccustomed  in  war,  until  the  servants  of  the  King  of 
Great  Britain  have  convinced  the  impartial  world,  no  act  of  in- 
humanity, no  stretch  of  despotism,  are  too  great  to  exercise  towards 
those  they  term  rebels.  Had  any  apparent  advantage  been  derived 
from  burning  the  house  on  Philip's  Manor  last  Monday,  there 
would  have  been  some  reason  to  justify  the  measure;  but  when 
no  benefit  whatever  can  be  proposed  by  burning  those  buildings 
and  stripping  the  women  and  children  of  necessary  apparel  to  cover 
them  from  the  severity  of  a  cold  night,  and  captivating  and  lead- 
ing in  triumph  to  your  lines,  in  the  most  ignominious  manner,  the 
heads  of  those  families,  I  know  not  what  justifiable  cause  to 
assign  for  those  acts  of  cruelty;  nor  can  I  conceive  a  necessity  for 
your  further  order  to  destroy  Tarrytown.  You  cannot  be  insensi- 
ble it  is  every  day  in  my  power  to  destroy  the  houses  and  buildings 
of  Col.  Philips,  and  those  belonging  to  the  family  of  Delancey,  each 
as  near  your  lines  as  those  buildings  were  to  my  guards ;  and  not- 
withstanding your  utmost  diligence,  you  cannot  prevent  the  destruc- 
tion of  every  house  this  side  of  King's  Bridge.  It  is  not  fear;  it 
is  not  want  of  opportunity  that  has  preserved  those  buildings,  but 
a  sense  of  the  injustice  and  savageness  of  such  a  line  of  conduct 
has  saved  them ;  and  nothing  but  necessity  will  induce  me  to  copy 
examples  of  this  sort  so  often  set  by  your  troops. 

It  is  not  my  inclination,  sir,  to  war  in  this  manner  against  the 
inhabitants  within  your  lines,  who  suppose  themselves  within  your 
King's  protection.  But  necessity  will  oblige  me  to  retaliate  in  kind 
upon  your  friends,  to  procure  the  exercise  of  that  justice  which 
humanity  used  to  dictate;  unless  your  explicit  disavowal  of  your 
two  captains,  Emmerick  and  Barnes,  shall  convince  me  those  houses 
were  burned  without  your  knowledge  and  against  your  order.  I 
am,  sir,  your  humble  servant, 

Samuel  H.  Parsons. 


LIEUTENANT  CORNELIUS  VAN  TASSEL  49 

King's  Bridge  Camp, 

Nov.  23,  1777. 

Sir  : — Could  I  possibly  conceive  myself  accountable  to  any  re- 
volted subject  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain  I  might  answer  your 
letter  received  by  the  flag  of  truce  yesterday,  respecting  the  conduct 
of  the  party  under  Capt.  Emmerick's  command. 

Upon  the  taking  of  Peter  and  Cornelius  Van  Tassel ;  I  have  how- 
ever candor  enough  to  assure  you,  as  much  as  I  abhor  every  prin- 
ciple of  inhumanity,  or  ungenerous  conduct,  I  should  were  I  in  more 
authority,  burn  every  committee-man's  house  within  my  reach.  As 
I  deem  those  agents  the  wicked  instruments  of  the  continued  calam- 
ities of  this  country;  and  in  order  sooner  to  purge  this  country  of 
them  I  am  willing  to  give  twenty-five  dollars  for  every  acting  com- 
mitteeman, who  shall  be  delivered  up  to  the  King's  troops.  I  guess 
before  the  end  of  the  next  campaign,  they  will  be  torn  in  pieces 
by  their  own  countrymen,  whom  they  have  forcibly  dragged  in  op- 
position to  their  principles  and  duty,  (after  fining  them  to  the 
extent  of  their  property)  to  take  up  arms  against  their  lawful  sov- 
ereign, and  compelling  them  to  exchange  their  happy  constitution 
for  oaper,  rags,  anarchy  and  distress. 

"The  ruins  from  the  conflagration  of  New  York  by  the  emissaries 
of  your  party  last  year,  remain  a  memorial  of  their  tender  regards 
for  their  fellow  beings  exposed  to  the  severity  of  a  cold  night. 

"This  is  the  first  correspondence  I  have  held  with  the  King's 
enemies  on  my  Dart  in  America,  and  as  I  am  immediately  under  the 
command  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  your  future  letters  dictated  with 
decency  would  be  more  properly  directed  to  his  excellency.  I  am, 
Sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

William  Tryon. 

Maj.  Gen'l." 

To  Gen'l  Parsons. 

This  letter  was  received  by  General  Parsons  on  Sunday, 
the  23d  inst.  It  is  not  known  that  he  issued  any  orders  in 
reference  to  it,  but  its  contents  were  made  public,  and  acted 
upon  by  a  party  of  Van  Tassel's  company  and  neighbors, 
who  upon  Tuesday  night,  the  25th,  under  command  of 
Abraham  Martling,  a  Continental  soldier,  better  known  as 
"Brom"  Marlin,  who  lived  and  died  upon  a  portion  of 
Lieutenant  Van  Tassel's  farm,  started  by  boat  from  the 
house  of  Lieutenant  Jacob  Van  Tassel,  the  headquarters  of 
the  Water  Guard,  (Wolfert's  Roost)  and  proceeded  to  New 
York,  successfully  passing  the  British  Guard  boats  posted  at 
Spuyten  Duyvil.  They  landed  within  the  limits  of  the  city 
and  penetrated  to  the  house  of  Governor  Delancey  at  Bloom- 
ingdale,  which  they  burned. 


50  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

Lieutenant  Van  Tassel  and  Committeeman  Peter  Van 
Tassel  were  held  as  prisoners  by  the  British  and  confined  for 
eleven  months  in  the  old  Provost  Gaol,  in  New  York,  located 
where  the  Hall  of  Records  now  stands.  The  British  looked 
upon  them  as  civilians  and  declined  their  frequent  requests 
to  be  exchanged.  During  their  confinement  they  were 
visited  by  Colonel  Alexander  Hamilton,  appointed  by  Gen- 
eral Washington,  and  a  Mr.  Lorring,  appointed  by  Lord 
Howe,  commissioners  to  examine  into  the  conditions  of 
the  various  prisons.  The  prisoners  at  the  Provost  Gaol 
were  told  that  they,  being  committeemen  or  civilians,  the 
commissioners  had  no  authority  to  act  in  respect  to  their 
exchange,  no  arrangements  having  been  made  by  the  oppos- 
ing military  forces  for  the  exchange  of  civilian  prisoners, 
and  that  they  must  apply  for  release  through  the  Governor 
of  the  Colony,  which  they  did  by  petition.  Orders  were 
then  given  that  prominent  Tories  should  be  arrested  and 
held  as  hostages  for  exchange.  The  first  to  be  arrested 
was  Alexander  White,  High  Sheriff  of  Tryon  County. 
He  was  required  upon  trial  at  Albany  to  take  an  oath  of 
allegiance,  which  he  refused  to  do,  and  was  then  sent  to 
prison.  His  wife,  thereupon,  interceded,  and  obtained  per- 
mission to  visit  Governor  Clinton  at  Albany  in  an  effort 
to  obtain  her  husband's  release.  She  afterwards  went  to 
New  York  and  succeeded  in  having  Lieutenant  Van  Tassel 
paroled  and  sent  up  to  Governor  Clinton  to  be  exchanged  for 
the  Sheriff,  which  exchange  was  accomplished. 

The  records  show  that  the  release  of  the  Lieutenant  and 
the  Committeeman  from  prison  was  effected  on  October 
17,  1778,  making  just  eleven  months  of  captivity. 

The  following  account  appears  in  the  book  of  Audited 
Accounts  pertaining  to  the  Revolution  in  the  State  Archives 
at  Albany: 


LIEUTENANT   CORNELIUS   VAN  TASSEL  51 


"THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK,  DR. 

"To  Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassell. 
"To  pay  while  in  captivity,  from  Nov.  17,  1777,  to  the 

17th  October  1778   £117.06.8 

"To    retained    rations    13.15.0 


"Audited  1784"  £131.  1.8 

Out  of  the  thirty-nine  members  of  the  Van  Tassel  family 
who  were  engaged  in  the  Continental  military  service,  six- 
teen were  connected  with  the  South  Battalion  of  the  First 
Regiment  of  Westchester  Militia.  A  number  of  sanguinary 
encounters  with  the  British  forces  took  place  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  charred  ruins  of  the  Van  Tassel  homes.  The 
bodies  of  six  Hessian  soldiers  are  still  interred  upon  a 
portion  of  Lieutenant  Van  Tassel's  old  farm,  one  of  them 
having  been  shot  while  hiding  behind  a  large  boulder, 
which  is  still  seen  near  the  Worthington  Memorial  Church. 

In  1781,  when  the  American  and  French  forces  were 
encamped  near  the  Van  Tassel  farm,  Lieutenant  Van  Tassel 
furnished,  for  the  use  of  the  army,  3,000  fence  rails.  The 
war  chest  was  practically  empty  at  that  time  and  he  was 
compelled  to  wait  seven  years  for  payment  for  his  rails. 

In  January.  1783,  under  direction  of  Captain  Daniel  Wil- 
liams, he  proceeded  with  thirty-three  men  to  attempt  the 
capture  of  Colonel  Delancey  at  his  quarters  in  Westchester. 
The  party  did  not  find  the  Colonel  at  home,  but  looted  his 
house  and  hastily  withdrew.  After  crossing  the  Croton 
River,  deeming  themselves  safe,  they  halted  and  exposed 
their  loot  for  sale  or  division.  While  so  employed  they  were 
surprised  by  a  party  of  the  enemy  sent  in  pursuit.  One 
of  the  militiamen  was  killed,  seven  taken  prisoners  and 
several  wounded.  Among  the  latter  was  John  Paulding, 
one  of  Andre's  captors. 

Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel  died  March  6,  1820, 
aged  eighty-five  years,  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Storm,  died 
March  13,  1825,  aged  eighty-seven  years,  and  both  were 
buried  in  the  churchyard  of  the  old  Dutch  church  at  Sleepy 
Hollow. 


THE  STORM  FAMILY. 


Dirck  Storm  came  to  this  country  from  Utrecht,  Holland, 
via  Amsterdam,  in  1662.  Arms :  Field,  a  ship  at  sea  under 
storm  sail.  Crest:  The  helmet  of  a  knight,  vizor  closed. 
Aff  ronte,  surmounted  by  eagle's  wings.  Motto :  "Ver- 
trouwt"  (In  God  we  trust).  His  wife,  Maria  Pieters,  and 
three  sons,  Gregoris,  Pieter  and  David,  came  with  him.  He 
settled  first  in  Harlem,  then  went  to  Brooklyn  and  Flat- 
bush,  where  he  served  as  town  clerk  in  1670.  In  1691,  he 
was  clerk  of  the  Sessions  from  Orange  County,  and  in 
1697,  he  had  removed  to  Phillips  Manor.  Here  he  became 
identified  with  the  church  and  was  selected  November  3, 
1715,  to  make  up  a  church  record  from  memoranda  kept  by 
Abraham  de  Revier.  This  record  shows  that  the  church 
had  from  its  organization  in  1680-5  down  to  April  18,  1716, 
the  date  of  his  report,  seventy-five  members,  and  that  the 
church  in  Cortland  Manor  had  twenty-eight  members  when 
the  two  churches  consolidated  about  April  21,  1697.  His 
list  of  baptisms  from  April  21,  1697,  to  April  18,  1716,  com- 
prise 319  names  of  children,  their  parents  and  sponsors. 
He  retired  as  clerk  at  date  of  his  report.  The  record  of 
baptisms  in  the  Storm  family  shows  that  for  a  number  of 
generations  the  name  Gourus  (Gregoris)  was  a  favorite, 
the  desire  evidently  being  to  keep  in  remembrance  the  first 
of  that  name  coming  to  this  country. 

Gregoris  Storm  and  wife  Engeltje  had  a  son  Nicholas, 
who  married  Rachel  Conkling,  March  19,  1719.  At  that 
time  both  were  living  at  Phillips  Manor.    To  them  was  born 

52 


-VERTROU^ 


THE  STORM  FAMILY  53 

a  son,  Abraham,  and  a  daughter,  Elizabeth,  and  another  son, 
Isaac.  He,  Nicholas,  married  for  his  second  wife  Maritje 
Dutcher,  daughter  of  Johanis,  and  had  a  son,  Nicholas,  Jr., 
and  two  daughters,  Maritje  and  Rachel.  Rachel  married 
Isaac  Van  Wart,  one  of  Andre's  captors. 

Elizabeth  Storm,  daughter  of  Nicholas,  senior,  married 
Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel,  October  16,  1756,  and 
to  them  was  born  a  son,  Cornelius,  Jr.,  and  a  daughter  Leah, 
who  married  John  Romer. 

Nicholas  Storm,  senior,  lived  at  Storm's  Bridge,  now 
known  as  Elms  ford,  and  was  enrolled  as  a  member  of  the 
Westchester  Militia  Regiment.  Abraham,  his  son,  likewise 
lived  at  Storm's  Bridge  and  maintained  a  tavern  there, 
which  was  partly  burned  by  the  Tories  the  same  night 
the  Van  Tassel  houses  were  burned.  He  was  for  a  short 
time  captain  of  the  Tarry  town  Company  of  militia;  was 
major  of  the  First  Regiment  of  Minute  Men,  and  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  in  1776-7. 

Pieter  Storm,  son  of  Dirck,  the  immigrant,  married 
Margaret  Van  Tassel,  daughter  of  Jan  Cornelius,  2d,  and 
granddaughter  of  Catoneras,  daughter  of  Wyandance. 

David  Storm,  son  of  Dirck,  was  chosen  as  one  of  the 
deacons  of  the  old  Dutch  Church,  and  afterwards  served 
several  terms  as  elder. 

Nicholas  Storm,  Jr.,  enlisted  July,  1776,  in  Captain  Wil- 
liam Dutcher's  company,  and  was  stationed  at  Tarrytown 
for  six  weeks.  In  October,  he  again  enlisted  in  the  same 
company,  also  in  January,  1777,  and  again  in  January,  1778. 
In  May,  1779,  he  served  under  Captain  Daniel  Martling. 


SKETCHES  FROM  SOUVENIR  VOLUME  OF 
MONUMENT  DEDICATION  AT  TARRYTOWN. 


On  the  19th  day  of  October,  1894,  there  was  dedicated 
at  Tarrytown,  N.  Y.  a  Revolutionary  soldiers'  monument, 
erected  in  Sleepy  Hollow  Cemetery.  A  souvenir  volume 
containing  a  record  of  the  proceedings  on  the  occasion  of 
the  dedication  and  brief  sketches  of  the  lives  of  some  of 
the  sturdy  Westchester  County  patriots  who  were  active 
participants  in  the  great  struggle  for  independence  was 
compiled  by  Marcius  R.  Raymond,  Esq.,  of  Tarrytown, 
secretary  of  the  monument  committee,  and  published  by 
the  committee  in  1894. 

From  this  volume  the  following  extracts  have  been  taken : 

A.    Statement  by  Lieutenant  Samuel  Youngs. 

"In  the  month  of  December,  1776,  all  the  Continental 
troops  having  been  withdrawn  from  what  was  then  estab- 
lished as  the  American  lines,  which  was  from  Tarrytown 
on  the  Hudson  River  eastwardly  by  the  way  of  the  house 
of  my  father,  Joseph  Youngs,  and  the  White  Plains  to  the 
East  River,  the  inhabitants  residing  on  these  lines  were  left 
exposed  to  the  plundering  parties  of  British  refugees,  who 
with  some  British  troops  held  possession  of  the  southern 
part  of  the  county.  The  Committee  of  Public  Safety  or- 
dered out  the  Militia  of  that  part  of  the  county  who  be- 
longed to  Colonel  Hammond's  Regiment,  who  were  accord- 
ingly stationed  on  the  Tuckahoe  Road,  and  some  of  them 

54 


MONUMENT    DEDICATION    AT    TARRYTOWN  55 

at  the  houses  of  Peter  Van  Tassel  and  Cornelius  Van  Tassel 
on  the  Sawmill  River  Road;  that  about  120  of  Colonel 
Hammond's  regiment  were  continued  in  the  American  Serv- 
ice on  those  lines  from  the  beginning  of  December,  1776. 
until  May,  1777. 

"That  in  the  month  of  August,  1777,  a  regiment  of  levies 
was  raised  in  the  Counties  of  Dutchess  and  Westchester, 
consisting  of  about  500  men,  and  placed  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Ludington  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Hammond, 
for  the  term  of  four  months.  In  the  month  of  November 
or  December,  Colonel  Ludington's  Regiment  was  discharged, 
having  served  the  period  of  their  enlistment,  and  the  defence 
of  the  American  lines  was  again  left  entirely  to  the  Whig 
inhabitants;  that  Colonel  Hammond  ordered  out  a  part  of 
his  regiment  for  the  protection  of  those  who  were  daily 
sustaining  serious  losses  from  the  plundering  British  refu- 
gees;  and  those  lines  were  wholly  defended  at  that  period 
by  the  Whig  militia  of  Colonel  Hammond's  Regiment,  from 
October,  1777,  to  the  beginning  of  May,  1778. 

"That  sometime  in  March,  1778,  Colonel  Emerick,  who 
commanded  about  300  men  composed  of  British  and  Refu- 
gees, sent  out  Lieutenant  Althouse  with  thirty-two  men, 
to  take  and  bring  in  the  cattle  of  Joseph  Youngs,  and  of 
other  Whig  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood. 

"This  deponent,  Samuel  Youngs,  was  cutting  wood  about 
one-quarter  of  a  mile  from  his  father's,  the  said  Joseph 
Youngs'  house,  when  he  was  informed  that  a  party  of  the 
British  were  approaching  his  said  father's  house.  He  im- 
mediately started  for  his  home,  but  when  he  had  arrived 
within  fifty  yards,  he  discovered  the  party  of  Althouse 
driving  the  stock  from  the  yard.  Then  he  ran  toward  the 
house  of  Sergeant  John  Dean,  whom  he  soon  met  and  in- 
formed him  that  the  British  were  then  driving  off  his 
father's  cattle.  Dean  was  well  armed,  and  told  the  deponent 
that  he  would  find  arms  and  ammunition  at  his  house,  and 
that  in  the  meantime  he  would  endeavor  to  get  a  shot  at 


56  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

them.  The  deponent  accordingly  proceeded  to  Dean's  house, 
and  Mrs.  Dean  handed  him  three  muskets  and  two  bunches 
of  cartridges,  while  the  enemy  were  within  300  yards  of 
them.  That  deponent  then  soon  got  to  the  south  of  Alt- 
house's  party  of  marauders,  knowing  where  he  would  fall 
in  with  about  twenty  of  the  Militia ;  during  which  time  John 
Dean,  Jacob  Acker  and  Hendrick  Romer  had  attacked  the 
enemy  and  commenced  firing  upon  them.  This  alarmed 
the  Militia  so  that  when  the  deponent  arrived  at  the  house 
where  they  were  stationed,  he  found  about  twenty-five  men 
ready  for  the  contest,  but  without  an  officer  to  command 
them.  The  Militia  concealed  themselves  behind  a  stone  wall 
near  the  road  that  Althouse  must  pass  with  his  men  and  the 
stock  which  he  had  taken.  They  were  permitted  to  approach 
within  about  fifty  yards  before  the  Militia  opened  fire.  Alt- 
house  had  divided  his  party,  one  part  driving  the  stock, 
while  the  main  party  was  approaching  the  stone  wall.  Be- 
fore the  main  attack  was  made,  John  Dean  and  his  com- 
panions, Jacob  Acker  and  Hendrick  Romer,  had  commenced 
their  attack  on  the  party  driving  the  stock  and  had  killed  a 
man  named  Mike  Hart.  Immediately  after  Hart  fell  we 
opened  fire,  killing  one  and  wounding  three.  We  then  sprang 
over  the  wall  to  attack  them  with  the  bayonet.  Althouse 
gave  us  his  fire  as  we  were  on  the  wall,  by  which  John 
Buchannan  was  shot  through  the  shoulder  and  Nicholas 
Banker  through  the  thigh.  Althouse  immediately  abandoned 
his  plunder  and  retreated.  We  were  then  joined  by  John 
Dean  and  his  companions,  and  after  a  running  fight  of  about 
four  miles,  we  succeeded  in  killing  or  taking  Althouse  and 
all  of  his  men,  except  his  guide. 

"The  Militia  on  or  near  these  lines  were  again  called  out 
and  remained  in  position  until  the  middle  of  January,  1779, 
when  Colonel  Aaron  Burr  took  command  with  about  500 
Continental  troops.  A  number  of  young  men  of  that  neigh- 
borhood enlisted  to  serve  under  him  as  horsemen  at  that 
time,  of  whom  were  the  deponent  and  Sergeant  John  Dean. 


MONUMENT    DEDICATION    AT    TARRYTOWN  57 

Colonel  Burr  was  succeeded  in  April,  1779,  by  Major  Wil- 
liam Hull,  who  was  driven  from  those  lines  in  June  follow- 
ing, by  a  party  of  British  troopers  under  command  of 
Colonel  Tarleton. 

"After  the  defeat  and  retreat  of  Hull,  the  Whig  inhab- 
itants of  Colonel  Hammond's  Regiment  immediately  formed 
themselves  under  some  of  the  officers  of  said  regiment  and 
for  a  time  kept  the  plundering  parties  of  refugees  in  check, 
until  almost  all  the  stock  was  driven  back  into  the  country 
for  safety,  when  the  Militia  also  had  to  retire  over  the 
Croton  River.  That  in  the  winter  of  1780  deponent  en- 
gaged to  serve  as  one  of  the  guides  to  the  Continental  troops 
stationed  on  those  lines.  That  some  time  in  the  month  of 
September  while  deponent  was  a  guide  to  the  troops  on  those 
lines,  and  then  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Jameson, 
whose  headquarters  were  at  a  place  called  Mile  Square,  in 
said  County  of  Westchester,  about  the  23rd  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1780,  the  deponent  well  recollects  that  the  said  John 
Dean,  Isaac  Van  Wart,  David  Williams,  John  Paulding, 
James  Romer,  Abraham  Williams,  John  Yerks  and  Isaac 
See  arrived  at  the  quarters  of  Colonel  Jameson,  bringing 
with  them  a  prisoner  who  said  his  name  was  John  Ander- 
son, together  with  a  number  of  papers  concealed  in  the  boot 
of  the  prisoner  at  the  time  he  was  taken,  and  that  a  few  days 
afterwards  it  was  discovered  that  the  prisoner  was  Major 
John  Andre,  Adjutant  General  of  the  British  Army,  etc." 

B.    Statement  by  John  Dean. 

"One  little  matter  that  occurred  in  our  county  during  the 
Revolutionary  War,  I  will  try  to  relate.  One  Lieutenant 
Althouse,  and  Lieutenant  Barnes  (of  Delancey's  Regiment) 
made  an  excursion  into  our  county,  with  twenty-two  men 
each.  Lieutenant  Althouse  came  up  by  the  Sawmill  River 
Road,  and  went  up  to  the  upper  part  of  what  is  called  Phil- 
lips Manor,  and  collected  quite  a  drove  of  cattle,  and  Barnes 


58  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

went  through  the  White  Plains  to  North  Castle,  and  col- 
lected quite  another  drove,  and  on  Christmas  morning  Alt- 
house  came  down  the  Sawmill  River  Road,  and  Barnes  by 
the  way  of  White  Plains,  about  9  or  10  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing; and  the  news  spreading  quickly,  the  Militia  soon 
marched  after  them  and  overtook  them  above  where  Green- 
burg  Church  now  stands,  and  began  to  attack  them,  but  not 
in  force  sufficient  to  make  a  formidable  attack.  Captain 
Martling,  at  Tarrytown,  was  alarmed  and  rallied  in  haste 
with  what  part  of  his  company  he  could  collect,  proceeded 
by  the  road  to  the  bridge  over  the  river,  near  the  church, 
and  joined  the  party  already  harassing  the  enemy;  and  the 
force  by  this  time  was  so  formidable  that  they  were  obliged 
to  leave  their  drove  and  try  to  save  themselves ;  but  the 
Militia  men,  in  hot  pursuit,  took  some  prisoners  and  killed 
others,  so  that  not  one  escaped  but  James  Husted,  their 
guide ;  while  the  party  under  Barnes,  at  the  White  Plains, 
suffered  the  same  'fate ;  I  believe  not  one  escaped,  and  so 
both  of  the  Tory  parties  lost  their  Christmas  dinner  of  beef. 
It  caused  some  rejoicing  among  our  people,  and  the  owners 
of  the  droves  recovered  their  stock." 

C.     The  Van  Tassel  Family. 

"To  tell  the  story  of  Philipse  Manor  without  a  sketch  of 
the  Van  Tassel  family  would  be  like  leaving  Hamlet  out  of 
the  play.  They  were  one  of  the  most  numerous  and  con- 
spicuous families  of  the  Manorial  period,  and  were  the  very 
impersonation  of  some  of  its  most  marked  characteristics. 
The  blood  of  Thor  was  in  their  veins  and  their  struggle  for 
freedom  in  Friesland  had  made  them  veritable  sons  of  Mars. 
Wherever  a  Van  Tassel  waved  his  gonfalon  it  was  the  sig- 
nal for  an  onset  against  the  enemy,  and  in  the  border  war- 
fare that  waged  with  such  fierceness  on  this  Manor  during 
the  Revolution  they  were  ever  in  the  forefront. 

"Jan  Cornelius  Van  Tassel  was  the  first  of  that  name 


MONUMENT  DEDICATED  AT  TARRYTOWN  59 

known  to  have  come  to  New  Netherland.  Among  the  first 
settlers  to  locate  upon  Philipse  Manor  were  John,  Jacob 
and  Cornelius  Van  Tassel,  grandsons  of  the  first  mentioned. 
They  were  the  thirty-eighth,  fifty-second  and  seventy-third 
persons  whose  names  appear  upon  the  roll  of  members  of 
the  old  Dutch  Church  of  Sleepy  Hollow.  Dirck,  the  son  of 
Cornelius,  was  the  twenty-fifth  person  baptized  previous  to 
1699.  In  1723  he  married  at  the  church  in  Hackensack, 
N.  J.,  Christina  Buise,  daughter  of  Aaron  Buise,  who  was 
an  officer  of  the  old  Dutch  Church,  from  1743  to  1767.  His 
five  daughters  and  son  Cornelius  were  all  baptized  at  that 
church,  the  latter  in  1734.  A  receipt  given  to  Dirck  Van 
Tassel  by  Frederick  Philipse,  dated  December  22,  1767,  for 
£6  2s.  6d.,  for  rent  of  the  farm,  is  still  preserved.  Lieutenant 
Cornelius  married  Elizabeth  Storm,  daughter  of  Nicholas, 
and  sister  of  Captain  Abraham  Storm,  the  first  Captain 
elected  for  the  company  that  was  known  as  the  Tarrytown 
Company. 

"When  peace  was  proclaimed.  Lieutenant  Van  Tassel 
purchased  his  old  farm  from  the  Commissioners  of  Forfeit- 
ure, but  on  account  of  the  losses  incurred,  was  unable  to 
rebuild  his  dwelling.  His  only  son  having  died  from  ex- 
posure received  in  fighting  for  his  country,  he  postponed  the 
affair  until  the  marriage  of  his  daughter  Leah  to  John 
Romer,  son  of  Jacob  Romer,  Senior,  who  with  his  four 
brothers  had  been  active  participants  in  the  cause  of  Inde- 
pendence ;  and  in  1793,  they  erected  the  dwelling  still  stand- 
ing, of  which  a  photo  representation  appears  herewith,  and 
where  for  upward  of  fifty  years  the  annual  town  meetings 
of  the  township  of  Greenburg  were  held.  Here  Lieutenant 
Van  Tassel  and  wife  spent  their  remaining  days.  John 
Romer  became  captain  in  the  War  of  1812.  He  was  not 
only  a  well-known  man  among  men,  but,  it  is  said,  was 
decided  by  vote  at  a  general  election  to  be  the  best  looking 
man  in  the  town !  He  died  at  the  age  of  ninety,  beloved  by 
every  one. 


60  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

D.  The  Martling  Family. 
"An  Abraham  Martling  lived  on  Beaver  Hill,  near  the 
Sawmill  River  Valley.  In  his  application  for  a  pension, 
dated  April  17,  1818,  he  says  he  was  aged  fifty-five;  that  he 
enlisted  sometime  in  October,  1779,  in  Captain  Shaffer's 
company,  of  Colonel  Armand's  regiment  of  horse  and  foot, 
N.  Y.  Line,  and  so  continued  in  the  service  until  May,  1783, 
when  he  was  discharged  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina. 
That  he  was  in  the  battle  at  Yorktown  at  the  taking  of 
Cornwallis.  He  was  a  pensioner  from  1818,  and  died  Janu- 
ary 1,  1841.  His  widow,  Fanny  Romer  Martling,  applied 
for  pension  December  24,  1846.  He  was  buried  at  Green- 
burg  (Elmsford)  Churchyard.  He  is  said  to  have  been  with 
the  party  that  went  down  the  river  in  boats  and  raided  and 
burned  General  Oliver  Delancey's  house,  near  Blooming- 
dale,  on  the  night  of  Tuesday,  November  25,  1777,  in  re- 
taliation for  the  destruction  of  the  Van  Tassell  houses  in 
the  Sawmill  River  Valley  a  few  nights  previous.  Captain 
John  Romer  gives  the  following  account  of  that  affair:  'I 
don't  know  who  commanded  the  party  that  burnt  General 
Delancey's  house  on  the  25th  of  November,  1777,  but  believe 
it  was  Captain  Buchanan  of  the  Water  Guards.  The  party 
came  down  the  river  from  above  in  whale  boats  with  muffled 
oars  and  stopped  at  Tarrytown.  After  taking  some  volun- 
teers on  board  they  then  went  on  down  the  river.  They 
burnt  the  house  and  brought  off  considerable  plunder.' 

"Sergeant  Isaac  Martling,  the  story  of  whose  tragic  death 
still  lives  in  tradition,  as  well  as  on  the  pages  of  history,  and 
with  all  of  its  grim  import  is  perpetuated  on  the  moss- 
covered  tombstone  of  his  grave,  was  a  son  of  Abraham 
Martling,  senior,  and  a  brother  of  Captain  Daniel  and  Cor- 
poral David  Martling.  He  had  been  a  soldier  in  the  French 
War,  having  enlisted  in  Captain  Gilchrist's  company,  March 
27,  1759,  and  mustered  on  May  1  of  that  year.  On  the 
original  roll  his  age  is  given  as  seventeen  at  that  time,  his 
height  five  feet  seven  inches,  with  dark  eyes  and  dark  com- 
plexion. 


MONUMENT  DEDICATED  AT  TARRYTOWN  61 

"The  account  of  his  tragic  death  is  thus  related  by  Mrs. 
George  Lawrence,  now  seventy-six  years  of  age,  and  resid- 
ing at  Hartsdale,  Westchester  County,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Adaline  Requa,  granddaughter  of  Gabriel  Requa,  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  Elizabeth  Martling,  his  wife, 
who  was  the  daughter  of  Sergeant  Isaac  Martling:  Her 
great-grandfather  was  killed  in  front  of  the  old  Martling 
house,  at  Tarrytown.  He  had  been  to  the  near-by  spring, 
still  in  common  use  in  that  neighborhood,  for  a  pail  of  water, 
and  was  just  about  to  enter  the  house  when  he  was  murder- 
ously stricken  down,  inhumanly  slain,  as  is  recorded  upon 
his  tombstone,  by  Nathaniel  Underhill,  the  'inhumanity'  of 
the  act  being  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  Sergeant  Martling 
was  unarmed  as  well  as  one-armed,  and  had  no  opportunity 
to  defend  himself.  The  Nathaniel  Underhill  who  so  slew 
this  one-armed  patriot  of  two  wars  was  a  notorious  Tory 
who  lived  on  the  southern  part  of  the  Manor  in  the  vicinity 
of  Yonkers.  It  is  said  that  Sergeant  Martling  had  once 
caused  his  arrest,  hence  personal  animosity  sharpened  his 
cruel  hate.  After  independence  was  achieved,  he  found  it 
convenient  to  retire  to  Nova  Scotia,  with  other  Tory  refu- 
gees, and  died  there. 

"Captain  John  Romer  in  his  later  years  gave  the  following 
account  of  the  affair:  'On  the  26th  of  May,  1779,  a  party 
of  refugees  (Tories)  suddenly  came  upon  Tarrytown.  The 
inhabitants  drove  their  cattle  in  great  alarm  into  the  woods 
north  of  Pocantico  Brook,  on  the  first  approach  of  the 
enemy.  In  consequence  of  their  numbers,  Captain  Bu- 
chanan (of  the  Water  Guards)  had  found  it  necessary  to 
retreat  across  the  Pocantico,  where  he  lay  in  ambush  await- 
ing their  advance,  but  they  did  not  go  so  far.  At  Tarry- 
town they  killed  Isaac  Martling,  or  rather,  Nathaniel  Un- 
derhill killed  him.  Then  they  pushed  for  the  house  of  James 
Requa,  where  a  guard  was  kept  during  most  of  the  War, 
which  they  surprised,  but  the  whole  party  made  their  escape, 
except  one,  who  was  killed,  and  whose  name  was  John  Van 


62  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

Tassel.'  Captain  Romer  likewise  gives  an  account  of  the 
killing  of  Polly  or  Katrine  Buckhout.  He  says  she  was 
'killed  by  a  Yager  rifleman  belonging  to  a  party  under 
Emerick  who  were  patrolling  on  the  west  side  of  the  Saw- 
mill River.  She  imprudently  appeared  at  the  door  of  the 
house  with  a  man's  hat  on,  when  two  hostile  parties  were 
near  each  other,  and  was  killed  by  mistake  for  an  enemy. 
The  Yager  fired  without  orders,  and  Emerick  made  apology, 
being  much  mortified  at  the  occurrence.  The  house  where 
this  occurred  was  near  to  and  a  little  above  the  Sawmill 
River  Church." 

E.  Statement  of  John  Yerks. 
"John  Yerks,  of  the  town  of  Mount  Pleasant,  County  of 
Westchester,  being  duly  sworn,  saith  that  he  was  seventy- 
seven  years  of  age  on  the  11th  day  of  November  last.  That 
he  lived  with  his  father  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  about  one  mile  north  of  the  house  of  Joseph  Youngs, 
where  the  Americans  generally  kept  their  headquarters. 
That  sometime  about  the  23rd  of  September,  1780,  John 
Dean,  together  with  the  deponent,  and  John  Paulding,  Isaac 
Van  Wart,  David  Williams,  Abraham  Williams,  James 
Romer  and  Isaac  See,  being  on  a  scouting  party  between 
the  American  and  British  outposts,  proceeded  near  to  the 
old  Post  Road,  or  what  was  then  called  the  North  River 
Road,  near  Tarry  town.  That  their  object  was  to  intercept 
droves  of  cattle  that  were  frequently  stolen  and  driven  to  the 
British  troops.  That  the  party  there  halted,  and  the  better 
to  effect  their  object,  mutually  agreed  to  separate.  The  said 
John  Dean,  James  Romer,  Abraham  Williams  and  Isaac 
See,  and  the  deponent,  undertook  to  watch  the  private  road 
about  one-quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  the  said  Post  Road,  and 
Isaac  Van  Wart,  John  Paulding  and  David  Williams  were 
to  remain  on  or  near  the  old  Post  Road.  That  a  short  time 
after  the  said  party  had  so  separated,  Isaac  Van  Wart,  John 
Paulding  and  David  Williams  joined  the  others  of  the  party 
on  the  top  of  the  hill  with  a  prisoner  who  called  himself 


MONUMENT    DEDICATION    AT    TARRYTOWN  63 

John  Anderson.     The  prisoner  when  taken  had  a  horse, 
saddle  and  bridle,  a  gold  watch  and  some  money." 

Another  statement  was  made  by  John  Yerks,  under  date 
of  November  12,  1845,  in  which  he  said:  "I  am  now  eighty- 
seven  years  old.  Six  of  us  started  from  North  Salem,  being 
at  that  time  either  volunteers  in  the  service  or  eight  months' 
men.  At  Cross  River  we  were  joined  by  David  Williams. 
We  then  passed  Rundell's  Mills  on  Cross  River  and  so 
through  Bedford  to  where  Union  Village  now  stands  and, 
stopping  at  the  widow  Anderson's,  inquired  for  news.  She 
informed  us  that  she  had  just  come  up  from  Morrisania, 
where  there  appeared  to  be  great  commotion  among  the 
British  troops.  We  then  proceeded  about  three-fourths  of 
a  mile  further  toward  Tarrytown,  and  after  resting  awhile 
in  a  hay  barrack,  resumed  our  march  and  arrived  in  the 
night  at  Jacob  Romer's,  situated  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  White  Plains  and  Tarrytown  Road,  where  we  took 
supper.  We  then  took  advice  and  held  a  council  of  war. 
That  night  we  passed  at  Jacob  Romer's,  and  having  matured 
all  our  plans,  rose  early  in  the  morning.  We  then  took  our 
stations,  Paulding,  Williams  and  Van  Wart  watching  the 
Post  Road,  and  the  other  four  ambushing  the  refugees' 
path.  It  was  about  ten  or  eleven  when  Major  Andre  was 
taken,  and  his  captors  soon  joined  us  at  our  station,  when 
we  all  proceeded  with  the  prisoner  to  Jacob  Romer's,  where 
we  partook  of  some  refreshments,  Andre  refusing  to  eat  or 
drink  anything;  seemed  unwilling  to  talk  and  desirous  of 
being  alone.  Before  starting  on  the  expedition,  we  had 
applied  to  Captain  Baker  and  our  other  commanding  officers, 
and  they  had  full  knowledge  of  and  approved  our  enter- 
prise." 

F.     Statement  of  Mrs.  Charity  Tompkins. 

"Mrs.  Charity  Tompkins,  in  an  interview,  date  of  August 
31,  18-17,  gives  the  following  sketch  of  the  Romer  family, 
early  of  this  vicinity : 


64  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

"Old  Mr.  (Jacob)  and  Mrs.  Romer,  parents  of  John 
Romer,  came  from  the  same  parish,  or  village,  in  Switzer- 
land, and  had  become  attached  to  each  other  in  early  child- 
hood; she  the  daughter  of  a  farmer,  and  he  the  son  of  a 
tailor  and  a  tailor  himself.  When  grown  up  they  wanted 
to  marry,  but  her  parents  refused  consent.  They  then 
determined  to  seek  their  fortunes  in  America,  and  left  their 
native  place  together.  When  they  arrived  at  New  York  she 
had  money  to  pay  her  passage,  while  his  means  were  ex- 
hausted. He  was  about  to  sell  himself  for  a  time,  as  the 
custom  was  then,  when  she  said :  'You  can  earn  money  to 
purchase  my  freedom  sooner  than  I  can  yours.  Let  me  be 
sold,  then  you  can  work  at  your  trade  until  you  can  earn 
enough  to  buy  my  time,  when  we  will  marry.'  He  consented 
to  this  arrangement  and  paid  for  his  passage  with  her  money, 
while  she  was  sold.  When  he  had  earned  sufficient,  her 
freedom  was  bought,  and  so  they  were  married,  August  11, 
1754.    Her  name  was  Frena  Haarlager. 

This  Jacob  had  five  sons,  John,  James,  Jacob,  Joseph  and 
Hendrick,  all  of  whom  were  Revolutionary  soldiers.  The 
latter,  born  1755,  afterwards  removed  to  Cortland  town, 
where  he  died  1808,  leaving  descendants  by  two  marriages. 
John  married  Leah,  the  only  daughter  of  Cornelius  Van 
Tassel.  James  Romer  was  one  of  those  who  made  up  the 
party  at  the  time  of  capture  of  Andre,  but  the  following 
account  is  given  by  John,  who  was  afterwards  known  as 
Captain  John  Romer :  "The  captors  of  Andre  stopped  at  my 
father's  in  the  morning  before  day  and  took  breakfast,  and 
took  a  dinner,  prepared  for  them  by  my  mother,  in  a  pewter 
basin  and  basket.  They  stopped  a  little  upon  the  hillock  east 
of  the  road  and  north  of  the  brook,  afterwards  crossed  the 
road  and  when  they  captured  Andre  were  south  of  the 
brook.  After  the  capture  they  forgot  all  about  the  basket 
and  basin,  but  on  arriving  at  our  house  described  where  they 
had  left  them  and  I  was  sent  for  and  found  them.  Paulding 
returned   from   the   capture   in   advance   of   the   rest.      My 


MONUMENT    DEDICATION   AT   TARRYTOWN  65 

mother  was  a  very  warm  Whig.  Paulding  said  to  her,  "Aunt 
Fanny,  take  care  what  you  say  now ;  I  believe  we've  got  a 
British  officer  with  us."  My  father's  house  was  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  White  Plains  and  Tarry  town 
Road,  and  a  quarter  from  the  Post  Road.  The  brook  where 
Andre  was  taken  was  called  Qark's  Kill.  After  his  capture 
he  was  taken  into  the  thicket  on  the  east  side  of  the  road  and 
to  the  old  white-wood  tree,  about  150  yards  from  the  brook 
near  which  he  was  taken,  and  it  was  under  that  tree  that 
they  searched  him  and  discovered  his  papers." 


DESCENDANTS  OF  CAPTAIN  JOHN  ROMER. 


Of  the  thirteen  children  of  John  and  Leah  Romer,  we 
have  but  meager  records,  save  in  one  or  two  instances. 
Isaac  died  when  six  years  old ;  Cornelius  died  at  the  age 
of  thirty-six;  Edward  died  when  quite  young;  Hiram 
married  and  settled  in  central  New  York,  near  Jamesville, 
south  of  Syracuse;  John  married  and  made  his  home  in 
Tarrytown  until  his  wife  Cecelia  died,  afterwards  he  made 
his  home  in  New  York.  Ardenas  married  Deborah  Ann 
Free,  and  had  four  children— Silas,  Isaac,  Rachel  and 
Elizabeth,  all  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  A  daughter  of 
Rachel,  Myra  S.  Walker,  now  lives  at  Moline,  111. 

Alexander   married   first   Henrietta   D.    Crane   in    New 
York,  and  later  removed  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y.     Of  this  mar- 
riage   five    children    were   born— Ann,    Isaac.    Livingston, 
Washington  and  Martin.    The  three  last  named  served  with 
credit  in  the  Civil  War.    Washington  was  wounded  at  Chat- 
tanooga.   He  married,  had  one  daughter,  and  died  at  New- 
ark, N.  J.    Livingston  died  of  wounds  received  in  Virginia. 
Martin  married,  had  one  daughter,  and  died  at  Hurley,  N.  Y. 
Ann  married  Henry  Jeudevine,  and  settled  in  Detroit.  Isaac 
married  Wealthy  A.  Burt  and  settled  in  Buffalo,  where  he 
died  in  1907,  leaving  a  son  and  one  daughter,  Sarah  B. 
Romer.     In  1845,  Alexander  Romer  married  his  second 
wife,  Caroline  C.  Lockwood,  daughter  of  Lieutenant  Luther 
Lockwood,  a  soldier  of  the  War  of  1812,  and  Minerva 
Hawley,  his  wife.    There  were  four  children  of  this  mar- 
riage—James   Fuller    and  Emma  Palmer,    both  of  whom 


66 


CHRISTENA  GRAHAM.  DAUGHTER.  AND  JOHN  ROMER,  SON.  OF 
CAPTAIN  JOHN  ROMER 


ALEXANDER  ROMER  AND  CAROLINE  C.  LOCKWOOD.H1S  WIFE 


ED 
3  6  Yee-r;  LontHs. 


CATHARINE  LENT, 

WIFE   OF  ■* 

CORNELIUS  ROMER- 

DIED 

April  3,1866, 

AGE\D 

68  Years  4  Months  &  28  Days- 


JOHN  LOCKWOOD  ROMER 


:fe* 


KATHER1NE  TAYLOR  ROMER 


DESCENDANTS    OF    CAPTAIN   JOHN   ROMER  67 

died  in  infancy,  and  John  Lockwood  Romer,  now,  (1916), 
living  in  Buffalo,  and  Carrie,  who  was  born  in  the  old 
Van  Tassel-Romer  house  in  the  Sawmill  River  Valley. 
She  married  Millard  F.  Windsor,  of  Buffalo,  and  died 
July  3,  1906,  leaving  two  daughters,  Mildred  Windsor 
and  Ellen  Josephine  Windsor.  John  Lockwood  Romer  mar- 
ried Katherine  M.  Taylor,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Of  this 
marriage,  three  children  were  born — Ray  Taylor  Romer; 
Florence  Romer,  who  married  Reverend  Charles  C.  Albert- 
son,  D.  D.,  now  residing  in  Brooklyn,  and  has  one  daugh- 
ter, Katherine  R.  Albertson ;  and  Mabel  Romer,  who  mar- 
ried Harold  H.  Baker,  M.  D.,  now  residing  in  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  and  has  a  son,  John  Simeon  Baker. 

Alexander  Romer  was  born  in  the  Romer- Van  Tassel 
homestead  in  the  Sawmill  River  Valley,  October  1,  1801, 
and  here  his  boyhood  was  spent.  From  youth  to  early 
manhood  he  lived  in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  moved  to 
Buffalo  in  September,  1830,  where  he  carried  on  business 
as  a  carpenter  and  builder.  In  1850  he  returned  to  his 
boyhood  home  for  a  brief  period,  but  in  1858  again  took 
up  his  residence  in  Buffalo,  removing  to  Lancaster,  in  Erie 
County,  in  1862,  where  he  resided  for  twenty-four  years. 
During  the  administration  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  he  was  appointed 
and  served  as  postmaster  at  Town  Line  Village.  He  died 
in  Buffalo  on  July  3,  1888,  aged  eighty-seven  years.  On  the 
occasion  of  his  funeral,  Reverend  L.  D.  Ferguson,  D.  D., 
delivered  the  following  address : 

"The  illusiveness  of  our  earthly  life  has  been  witnessed  and 
lamented  by  the  greater  number  of  our  species,  as  one  by  one  they 
have  passed  into  the  cloud-land — that  realm  of  mystery  and  silence. 
They  have  not  reached  the  objects  of  their  ambition;  they  have 
not  realized  their  anticipations;  have  not  filled  up  their  purposes; 
have  not  enjoyed  the  Canaan  of  their  hopes.  Disappointment  and 
dissatisfaction  have  seemed  to  them  the  reward  of  their  sacrifices 
and  exertions. 

_  "So  we  must  confess  it  has  been  with  us  who  are  yet  among  the 
living.  We  have  found  life  unlike  what  we  wished  and  dreamed. 
Our  ideal  has  not  been  reached ;  our  over-sanguine  hopes  have  not 
been  fulfilled ;  but  cur  allotment  has  been  chiefly  a  recurrence  of 
fluctuating  feelings.     Our  high  resolves,  our  boundless  plans,  our 


68  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

strong  determinations,  have  been  clouded  by  partial  failure,  until 
at  length  we  have  yielded  to  repinings  or  despair;  saying  at  times 
with  the  Patriarch  Jacob,  'Few  and  evil  have  been  the  days  of  my 
pilgrimage.' 

"And  yet,  while  we  do  not  win  what  we  expected,  we  get  some- 
thing which  in  other  time  may  be  of  great  value.  We  get  patience 
in  adversity ;  we  get  fortitude  to  bear  our  pain  and  disappointments ; 
we  get  firmness  and  constancy ;  we  get  persistency  even  in  reverses ; 
we  get  character,  which  is  the  substance  of  heaven  itself,  without 
which  spiritual  realities  cannot  be  comprehended. 

"But  through  the  changes  and  fleeting  experiences  of  life  our  de- 
parted brother  has  already  passed.  He  has  had  his  share  in  its 
enterprises,  in  its  successes  and  reverses,  until  the  rolling  wave  has 
died  upon  the  shore,  and  the  once  heaving  breast  is  still. 

"As  a  rare  exception  to  the  common  frame  of  men,  his  spirit 
was  that  of  cheer  and  hope  unto  the  last.  Hope  was  the  light  which 
shed  its  influence  upon  his  faculties  and  life.  This  may  have 
arisen  partly  from  the  native  bias  of  his  mind ;  partly  from  his  firm 
trust  in  the  final  well-being  of  our  redeemed  race;  or  further,  from 
the  fortunate  blessings  he  experienced  in  the  kindness  and  helpful 
power  of  his  dutiful  children. 

"His  always  seemed  to  me  a  blameless  life.  His  heart  seemed 
full  of  kindness;  ready  to  pity  weakness;  to  forgive  injuries;  to 
sympathize  with  justice;  while  he  was  modest,  generous,  unaffected; 
a  friendly  friend,  and  not  the  simulator  of  qualities  which  he  did 
not  really  possess. 

"Such  in  brief,  is  the  aspect  in  which  the  character  of  this  ven- 
erable man  presented  itself  to  an  observer;  one  whom  I  have  valued 
as  a  steadfast  friend. 

"Let  us  part  with  him  then,  with  the  trust  that  when  the  final 
moment  came,  his  spirit  of  hope  and  cheer  and  confidence  met  with 
response  from  the  other  shore,  and  with  a  spirit  of  welcome  which 
assured  inheritance  with  those  who,  through  faith  and  patience, 
'inherit  the  promises,' — an  inheritance  not  gained  by  purchase,  but 
is  alone  the  gift  of  God. 

"And  now,  you,  whose  hearts  beat  into  each  other,  whose  spirits 
feel  in  common  the  wound  that  death  has  made,  be  ye  comforted 
in  this,  that  your  care  and  kindness  have  made  a  father's  later 
years  less  heavy  than  the  common  lot,  and  death  less  dreaded ; 
and  may  you  each,  and  may  you  all,  when  care  and  dying  are 
among  the  things  that  are  no  more,  meet  whispers  from  the  open 
doors  of  paradise,  saying,  'Peace,  grace  and  mercy  from  God  our 
Father,  and  from  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' " 

Caroline  C.  Romer,  widow  of  Alexander  Romer,  died 
August  28,  1894.  Reverend  Willis  P.  Odell,  D.  D.,  offici- 
ated at  her  funeral.    The  following  notice  appeared  in  the 

Buffalo  Christian  Advocate: 

"On  Tuesday  evening,  August  28,  Mrs.  Caroline  C.  Romer,  of 
Buffalo,  in  her  eighty-fourth  year,  entered  into  rest.     For  several 


o 

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H 

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jo 

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CARRIE  ROMER  WINDSOR 


DESCENDANTS    OF    CAPTAIN   JOHN   ROMER  69 

years  she  had  been  a  great  sufferer,  but  bore  all  with  true  Chris- 
tian patience  and  fortitude.  She  was  a  woman  of  strong  char- 
acter, with  a  marked  and  rich  experience  in  the  divine  life.  Dur- 
ing her  protracted  illness  her  faith  and  hope  were  triumphant  over 
her  intense  sufferings,  so  that  she  exemplified  in  a  high  degree  'the 
patience  of  the  saints.'  The  deceased  was  a  member  of  Delaware 
Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  mother  of  John  L.  Romer, 
Esq.,  of  this  city." 

Carrie  Romer  Windsor  died  in  Buffalo  July  3,  1906. 
Reverend  Charles  C.  Albertson,  D.  D.,  officiated  at  her 
funeral.  The  following  notices  appeared  in  the  Buffalo 
Commercial : 

"The  death  of  Mrs.  Millard  F.  Windsor,  which  occurred  on  Tues- 
day of  this  week,  was  a  painful  surprise  to  a  great  number  of 
friends.  Her  illness  was  of  short  duration,  the  first  intimation  of 
it,  except  to  a  few,  being  the  announcement  of  her  death.  Mrs. 
Windsor  had  been  a  resident  of  Buffalo  for  thirty  years  and  was 
highly  esteemed  in  social,  philanthropic  and  church  circles  as  a 
woman  of  many  virtues.  Her  sunny  disposition  endeared  her  to 
all  and  her  effectiveness  in  good  works  made  her  a  valuable  asso- 
ciate in  benevolent  enterprises.  She  is  survived  by  her  husband  and 
two  young  daughters,  and  by  her  brother,  John  L.  Romer. 

"The  funeral  of  Mrs.  Millard  F.  Windsor,  who  died  on  Tuesday, 
was  held  from  the  family  residence,  703  West  Ferry  Street,  at 
three  o'clock  this  afternoon.  Reverend  C.  C.  Albertson,  D.D., 
former  pastor  of  the  Delaware  Avenue  Methodist  Church,  assisted 
by  Reverend  R.  F.  Hurlburt,  officiated.  The  honorary  bearers  were 
James  Fenton,  Robert  Keating,  John  W.  Robinson,  Hiram  Watson, 
Hiram  Waltz,  A.  G.  Sherman,  A.  H.  Dickinson  and  John  Humble. 
The  active  bearers  were  T.  J.  Overturf,  George  M.  Ramsdell, 
William  Lansill,  William  D.  Cushman,  Robert  W.  Murphy,  L.  A. 
Mattice,  Otto  G.  Spann  and  Robert  W.  Gallagher.  Interment  was 
in  Forest  Lawn." 

Isaac  J.  Romer,  oldest  son  of  Alexander  Romer,  died  in 

Buffalo,  May  1,  1907.    The  following  notice  appeared  in  a 

Buffalo  daily  paper: 

"Isaac  J.  Romer,  who  had  been  a  resident  of  this  city  for  over 
seventy-six  years,  coming  to  Buffalo  ia  its  infancy  and  growing  up 
with  its  development,  passed  away  yesterday  at  his  home,  380 
Rhode  Island  Street,  after  an  illness  of  a  week.  Mr.  Romer  was 
born  in  New  York  City  seventy-eight  years  ago,  the  son  of  the 
late  Alexander  Romer.  With  his  parents  he  came  to  Buffalo  in 
1830  by  way  of  the  canal.  He  received  his  education  in  this  city, 
and  then  embarked  in  the  lumber  and  contracting  business,  which 
he  continued  practically  all  his  life.  He  was  in  partnership  with 
William  Pooley  for  a  number  of  years,  but  had  mostly  engaged 
in  business  for  himself. 


70  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

"Mr.  Romer  is  survived  by  one  son  and  one  daughter.  He 
was  a  brother  of  John  L.  Romer.  His  wife,  Wealthy  A.  Burt,  died 
some  four  years  ago.  The  funeral  will  be  held  from  the  family 
home  tomorrow  afternoon." 

Of  the  daughters  of  Captain  John  Romer  and  his  wife 
Leah,  Nancy  married  Isaac  Burr,  of  Greenburg;  Christina 

married  William  Graham ;  Elizabeth  married Barker ; 

Phoebe  married  first,  Charles  A.  Righter,  of  Powerville, 
N.  J.  A  son,  Charles  A.  Righter,  Jr.,  was  born,  who  married 
Winifred  Thomas.  To  them  was  born  a  son,  Lincoln 
Righter,  now  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  a  daughter,  Ethel  Field 
Righter.  Lincoln  Righter  married  Clara  H.  Napier,  to 
whom  was  born  a  daughter  Constance,  who  married  Robert 
D.  Morse.  Ethel  Field  Righter  married  Raymond  Hunt- 
ington Woodman,  now  residing  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and 
to  them  were  born  two  daughters — Winifred  Woodman 
and  Jocelyn  Woodman. 

Phoebe  Romer  Righter  married  for  her  second  husband 
Edward  S.  Pepper,  of  Tarrytown,  and  of  this  marriage  was 
born  a  daughter,  Elvie,  who  married  Clifton  H.  Markoe, 
but  did  not  long  survive  her  marriage. 

Angeline  Romer  married  John  C.  A.  Hamilton,  a  grand- 
son of  General  Alexander  Hamilton,  of  Revolutionary  fame, 
September  20,  1838,  and  died  December  4,  1889.  Of  this 
marriage  two  sons  were  born — Edgar  A.  Hamilton  and 
John  C.  L.  Hamilton,  both  of  whom  are  living,  Edgar  be- 
ing pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  Sussex,  N.  J.,  and 
John  C.  L.,  living  in  retirement  at  Elms  ford,  N.  Y. 

Both  Edgar  and  John  served  with  distinction  throughout 
the  Civil  War. 

Edgar  married  first,  Martha  Ecob,  and  second,  Mrs. 
Carrie  Rogers  Tolfree.  His  oldest  son,  Edgar  Laurens 
Hamilton,  is  a  Baptist  clergyman  now  living  at  Hudson, 
Mass.,  who  has  four  children — Harold  R.,  Alexander,  Philip 


DESCENDANTS  OP  CAPTAIN  JOHN  ROMER  71 

Schuyler  and  Eveline  Hope.  Edgar's  second  son,  James 
Arthur  Hamilton,  has  two  children,  Margaret  Elizabeth  and 
Martha  Louise.  He  resides  in  Gainesville,  Georgia.  Edgar's 
first  daughter,  Grace  Holmes  Hamilton,  is  a  member  of  the 
Bible  Institute  in  New  York,  and  his  second  daughter, 
Eleanor  Ecob,  is  now  principal  in  charge  of  Miami  Valley- 
Hospital,  at  Dayton,  Ohio. 

John  C.  L.  Hamilton  married  Sarah  F.  Pugh,  of  Washing- 
ton, N.  C.  To  them  four  sons  and  one  daughter  were  born. 
Frank  is  the  general  superintendent  of  the  Department 
of  Horticulture  in  New  York  City  parks;  Mary  Schuyler 
Hamilton  is  engaged  in  educational  work ;  Philip  L.  is  fore- 
man for  Pierson  &  Company;  Joseph  T.  is  an  engineer; 
and  John  C.  resides  with  his  parents. 


WHERE  JOHN  ANDRE  WAS  CAPTURED. 


G.   A.   R.   Flag-Raising   at   Elmsford    Schoolhouse   Recalls    Revo- 
lutionary Days  in  Hudson  Valley— Some  New  History. 


Eighteen  miles  from  New  York,  in  one  of  the  loveliest 
portions  of  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Hudson,  lies  the  vil- 
lage of  Elmsford,  little  known  to  fame,  but  surrounded  by 
historic  sites  and  patriotic  traditions  second  to  those  of  no 
other  small  town  in  the  State.  Hither,  a  fortnight  ago 
(September  28),  came  the  members  of  Lafayette  Post,  No. 
140,  G.  A.  R.,  to  partake  of  the  hospitality  of  the  good  peo- 
ple of  Elmsford,  and  to  present  to  them  an  American  flag  to 
float  over  their  new  schoolhouse. 

It  was  a  great  festal  day  for  Elmsford  and  vicinity.  The 
people  came  for  many  miles  around,  and  there  were  many 
speeches  and  songs  and  wild  cheers  when  Old  Glory  crept 
up  the  flagstaff.  There  was  a  genuine  Rhode  Island  clam- 
bake, too,  and  good  cheer  and  good-fellowship  on  every 
hand. 

Next  to  the  patriotism  of  the  people,  what  interested  the 
veterans  most  was  the  Revolutionary  history  and  traditions 
of  Elmsford.  And  in  these  matters  they  could  not  have 
had  a  better  tutor  than  their  old  comrade-in-arms,  Col.  J.  C. 
L.  Hamilton,  great-grandson  of  that  most  illustrious  son 
of  New  York,  the  great  soldier  and  statesman  who  sleeps  in 
Trinity  churchyard. 

72 


WHERE  JOHN  ANDRE  WAS  CAPTURED  73 


The  Colonel  lives  at  Elmsford,  and  is  a  member  of  La- 
fayette Post.  His  grandfathers  were  John  Romer  and 
Cornelius  Van  Tassel,  and  his  great-grandfather  was  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  all  of  whom  were  in  the  battle  of  White 
Plains  in  1776.  Colonel  Hamilton  was  a  soldier  in  the  late 
Civil  War,  serving  in  the  Fifth  New  York  Volunteers  and 
the  Third  New  York  Artillery. 

Under  the  old  trees,  in  the  shadow  of  many  an  historic 
structure,  that  fair  autumn  afternoon,  chatting  quietly  with 
his  comrades,  Colonel  Hamilton  gave  old-time  stories,  remi- 
niscences and  traditions,  many  of  which  are  published  for 
the  first  time  in  today's  Mail  and  Express.  Here  are  some 
of  the  things  he  said  and  showed  to  them : 

Historic  Ground. 

The  present  village  of  Elmsford  was  named  Storm's 
Bridge  from  1704  to  1785;  Greenburg,  from  1785  to  1845; 
Hall's  Corners,  from  1845  to  1865,  and  took  its  present  name 
in  1865.  It  is  situated  midway  between  White  Plains  and 
Tarrytown,  and  occupies  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  pic- 
turesque situations  in  the  famous  riparian  valley.  It  is  noted 
in  history  as  having  been  settled  in  Colonial  times  by  the 
Ackers,  Storms,  Van  Tassels,  Boyces,  Van  Warts,  Romers 
and  others  whose  descendants  did  yeoman  service  in  the 
days  of  '76.  Everybody,  it  seems,  was  expected  to  do  mili- 
tary service  in  those  days,  all  of  16  years  and  upward  be- 
ing enrolled  into  companies  which  elected  officers  who  were 
in  1775  commissioned  by  Congress.  Upon  the  commission 
given  to  Captain  Abraham  Storm  and  Lieutenant  Cornelius 
Van  Tassel  the  name  of  Tarrytown  appears  for  the  first 
time  that  it  can  be  found  on  any  record  yet  discovered.  The 
position  of  the  company  commanded  by  these  two  sturdy 
men  was  at  Elmsford,  and  within  the  northern  tdge  of  the 
Neutral  Ground,  and  it  was  stubbornly  defended  for  eight 
long  years  by  patriots  whose  names  the  pen  of  history  has 
somewhat  neglected. 


74  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

About  two  miles  south  of  Elmsford  General  Washington 
selected  the  camp  for  the  French  and  American  armies  in 
1781.  His  headquarters,  which  were  in  the  house  of  Lieut. 
Appleton,  of  Captain  Storm's  company,  have  long  since  dis- 
appeared, but  Count  Rochambeau's  headquarters — a  few 
minutes'  walk  from  the  spot — still  remain  and  are  occupied. 
It  is  a  unique  dwelling,  as  may  be  readily  imagined,  as  it 
was  built  in  1730  by  John  Tompkins,  who  seven  years  later 
paid  twelve  bushels  of  wheat  for  rent  of  the  farm.  This 
transaction  appears  by  a  receipt  still  in  existence,  though 
stained  and  yellow  with  its  age  of  158  years.  It  reads  as 
follows : 

"Rec'd  this  3d  Feb.,  1737,  of  John  Tompkins  twelve  bushells  of 
Wheat  it  being  for  a  Year's  Rent  due  to  me  for  the  farm  he  lives 
on.  Fred  Philips." 

Some  Old  Papers. 
Captain  Abraham  Storm  occupied  several  hundred  acres 
of  land  in  this  neighborhood,  and  in  1785  purchased  from 
the  Commissioners  of  Forfeitures  the  farm  which  now  com- 
prises the  village  of  Elmsford.  This  pious  man  made  a  will 
in  1790,  bequeathing  all  his  real  estate  to  his  wife,  directing 
that  his  gun  be  given  to  his  nephew,  Nicholas,  and  that  his 
slave,  Pete,  be  sold,  and  the  sum  of  twenty-five  pounds  out 
of  the  proceeds  be  given  to  the  Dutch  Church.  This  church 
was  in  Sleepy  Hollow. 

The  children  of  the  new  and  commodious  schoolhouse 
of  brick  where  Lafayette  Post  has  placed  the  flag,  find  it 
hard  to  realize  the  conditions  pertaining  to  education  in  the 
days  of  their  grandparents,  when  was  built  the  little  hut 
standing  and  only  recently  abandoned.  It  was  erected  at 
the  foot  of  the  graveyard,  because  the  ground  was  too  wet 
and  damp  for  burial  purposes,  but  good  enough  for  living 
children.  It  was  only  seventeen  by  twenty-four  feet  in  size, 
and,  of  course,  only  one  story  high.  Nobody  thought  of 
more  than  one  story  for  a  schoolhouse  in  those  days,  and 


WHERE  JOHN  ANDRE  WAS  CAPTURED  75 


yet  it  was  erected  under  a  State  law — the  first  general  school 
act  passed  under  Governor  Clinton's  administration  in 
1790-91 — and  the  playground  was  but  25  x  50  feet  in  that 
tract  where  farms  rented  for  a  few  dollars  a  year.  In 
witness  of  this  last  fact  another  rent  receipt  of  Philips  is 
shown,  which  is  upon  a  printed  form  of  clear,  well-formed 
type.  It  is  a  curiosity,  because  it  is  in  type  and  shows  that 
the  land-lord  must  have  been  a  man  of  great  wealth  to 
indulge  in  such  a  piece  of  extravagance. 

"Received  this,  22th  day  of  December,  1767,  from  Dirck  Van 
Tassel,  one  of  the  Tenants  on  the  Manor  of  Philipsburgh,  the  Sum 
of  six  pounds,  two  shillings,  sixpence  for  one  Year's  Rent,  due  the 
Day  and  Date  above;  by  me.  Fred  Philips." 

An  Odd  Schoolmaster. 

It  appears  that  schoolteachers  were  not  very  well  quali- 
fied even  as  recently  as  seventy-five  years  ago,  though  they 
were  apparently  shrewd  enough  to  accumulate  wealth.  Hall's 
Corners  was  named  by  one  J.  H.  Hall,  a  teacher  in  the  little 
schoolhouse,  afterward  a  wealthy  land  owner.  A  curious 
document  is  one  from  the  pen  of  this  erudite  pedagogue 
who  sent  notices  around  by  hand  (not  enveloped)  written 
upon  strips  of  paper  about  two  inches  wide  and  fifteen  long. 
Here  is  one,  addressed  to  Mr.  John  Romer,  Greenburgh. 
The  spelling  seems  to  be  as  original  as  the  plan  of  raising 
support  for  the  school : 

"Sir— The  School  bein'  in  want  of  wood  I  am  under  the  neces- 
sity of  Sending  this  Billet  to  you  for  your  Quota  of  money  to  by 
Wood  for  Fuel  it  being  by  order  of  the  Trustees  and  to  the  Sum 
of  one  Shilling  for  Each  and  Every  Such  pupil  Per  piece  and  pleas 
to  Send  the  Money  as  soon  as  you  Can  and  Oblige  your  Humble 
Servant.  J-  H.  Hall. 

"Greenburgh  District  No.  6  November  22nd  1816." 

It  was  customary,  it  seems,  to  procure  this  wood  in  long 
trunks,  which  was  delivered  to  the  school  in  this  form,  and 
the  children  had  to  cut  it  in  lengths  of  about  three  feet 


76  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

to  be  burned  in  the  old  box  stoves,  a  system  of  physical  cul- 
ture no  longer  in  vogue. 

One  feels  like  removing  one's  hat  as  he  wanders  through 
the  graveyard  where  rest  the  heroes  who  founded  American 
liberty.  The  congregation  of  the  Presbyterian  church — the 
first  church  erected  in  the  town — was  organized  in  1788  and 
the  church  was  built  just  100  years  ago.  Isaac  Van  Wart, 
one  of  the  captors  of  Major  Andre,  whose  monument  is 
the  most  conspicuous,  was  an  elder  of  the  church.  Be- 
side the  grave  of  Van  Wart  is  that  of  Solomon  Utter  (the 
grandfather  of  Dr.  Francis  Utter  of  Lafayette  Post),  who 
built  the  gallows  upon  which  Andre  was  hung. 

Another  patriot,  Abraham  Martling,  lies  under  a  tomb- 
stone bearing  an  inscription  telling  of  the  expedition  he  led 
in  1777  from  Wolfert's  Roost  down  to  New  York,  when 
he  burned  Governor  Delancey's  house,  on  Bloomingdale 
road,  in  retaliation  for  the  burning  by  the  British  of  the 
house  of  his  friend  and  neighbor,  Lieutenant  Van  Tassel. 
He  was  at  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown. 

Captain  John  Romer's  grave  is  there,  too.  He  died  in 
1855,  and  many  yet  living  have  heard  him  tell  of  how  he  felt 
as  a  boy  when,  amid  the  excitement  of  the  presence  of  a 
British  prisoner  in  his  mother's  house,  he  was  obliged  to  go 
a  long  way  up  the  road  to  fetch  the  pewter  basin  needed  for 
breakfast,  the  prisoner  being  one  John  Andre,  captured  with 
Benedict  Arnold's  papers  in  his  pocket  by  three  sturdy  yeo- 
men that  morning. 

But  of  all  the  odd  epitaphs  to  be  seen,  the  oddest  is  one  in 
the  Sleepy  Hollow  churchyard,  on  the  tombstone  of  Capt. 
John  Buckhout,  who  died  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  103 
years  old.  The  inscription  says  that  he  left  behind  him  240 
children  and  grandchildren. — New  York  Mail  and  Express, 
October  12,  1895. 


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A  VISIT  TO  ELMSFORD. 


By  Sarah  Comstock. 


To  be  sure,  the  old  Sawmill  River  Road,  and  the  old  Four 
Corners  of  Westchester  county,  and  the  spot  where  the 
British  guide  hid  in  the  currant  bushes,  and  all  the  rest  of 
the  Elmsford  traditions,  might  be  there  without  Colonel 
Hamilton.  But  it's  hard  to  believe  it.  Colonel  Hamilton  is 
so  much  a  part  of  the  place,  its  traditions  live  so  in  him,  that 
you  feel  as  if  they  would  melt  away  if  he  were  not  there  to 
hold  them.  When  the  great-grandson  of  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton and  of  Cornelius  Van  Tassel  points  with  his  cane  and 
says:  "That's  where  the  currant  bushes  stood!"  you're 
bound  to  see  those  currant  bushes. 

There  are  several  ways  to  reach  this  nest  of  Revolutionary 
lore.  The  New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River  Railroad 
will  carry  you  directly  to  Elmsford  for  half  a  dollar.  You 
can  trolley  the  entire  way,  going  to  Mount  Vernon  and  from 
Mount  Vernon  to  White  Plains,  then  taking  the  Tarrytown 
trolley  and  getting  off  at  Elmsford.  This  is  the  inexpensive 
route. 

But  for  those  of  you  who  are  brave  enough  to  don  the 
broad-soled,  low-heeled  boot  of  the  road,  and  to  set  out  for 
a  good  summer  day's  tramp,  here's  a  suggestion  that  is 
worth  heeding. 

77 


78  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

Start  early  and  go  directly  to  Yonkers,  either  by  train  or 
by  the  Broadway  subway.  Starting  out  parallel  with  Nep- 
perhan  Avenue,  north  of  the  Yonkers  Station,  you  will  find 
the  old  Sawmill  River  Road  itself.  From  here  it  runs  north, 
pursuing  the  course  of  the  stream  for  which  it  was  named 
long  ago,  in  the  days  when  the  saw  mills  at  Yonkers  were 
famed  through  all  the  country  around. 

Here  your  tramp  begins.  It  is  interesting  to  look  at  the 
rapid  stream  and  think  of  the  wonderful  changes  it  has 
seen — from  the  days  when  a  Mohican  village  stood  at  its 
mouth,  when  the  inhabitants  of  that  village  called  it  Nap- 
pechemak,  since  corrupted  into  Nepperhan.  Henry  Hud- 
son found  this  village;  Dutch  traders  visited  it  in  his  wake, 
and  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  made  settlements  here 
as  early  as  1639.  Van  der  Donck,  a  burgher  of  Manhattan, 
acquired  lands  here;  the  town  grew  rapidly,  and  the  busy 
little  Nepperhan  was  put  into  harness  and  made  to  run  a 
sawmill.  Other  mills  followed,  and  the  stream  found  this 
world  a  very  toilsome  place.  Bulky  buildings  now  hem  it 
in,  and  it  is  not  until  you  trace  it  into  the  open  country  fur- 
ther north  that  you  will  find  it  as  the  Mohicans  once  knew 
it,  free  and  sparkling,  open  to  the  sun  and  winds  of  the  sum- 
mer world. 

The  distance  from  Yonkers  to  the  old  Four  Corners  is, 
roughly,  ten  miles.  If  you  are  a  good  walker  every  step  of 
the  way  will  repay  you. 

As  you  tramp  on  to  the  north  you  can  remember  that  the 
roads  thereabouts  were  all  much  used  during  that  part  of  the 
Revolution  which  was  enacted  in  Westchester  county.  Wash- 
ington and  his  officers  knew  them  well,  and  there  are  care- 
fully preserved  maps  which  were  used  to  trace  them  for 
military  manoeuvres  of  that  period. 

Ardsley  is  reached ;  between  this  and  Elmsford  stands  the 
historic  house  known  as  Rochambeau's  headquarters,  now 
the  Odell  House.  At  last  you  enter  quiet  little  Elmsford, 
whose  interests  center  so  largely  in  the  past — and  it  was 


A  VISIT  TO  ELMSFORD  79 

in  his  own  home  there  that  we  found  Colonel  John  C.  L. 
Hamilton. 

A  Civil  War  veteran  himself,  his  great-grandfathers  on 
two  sides  were  well  known  to  Revolutionary  fame.  His 
house  is  a  treasure-trove  of  war  records,  portraits,  rare  old 
furniture,  and  ornaments.  The  andirons  brought  from  the 
old  Dutch  home  of  the  Van  Tassels  adorn  his  fireplace,  and 
the  pewter  basin  which  has  figured  in  many  tales  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Andre  stands  on  his  mantel.  Some  say  the  young 
British  officer  ate  his  bread  and  milk  from  it  on  the  day  of 
his  capture ;  Colonel  Hamilton's  opinion,  however,  is  that  he 
had  little  appetite  for  bread  and  milk. 

Here,  but  a  few  miles  from  Sleepy  Hollow,  from  the 
bridge  where  the  Headless  Horseman  rode,  from  the  old  mill 
of  Irving  lore,  from  the  graves  of  the  Van  Tassels,  his  fore- 
bears, this  genial  veteran  lives  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  his- 
tory that  he  loves.  It's  a  lucky  traveler  who  wins  his  inter- 
est and  hears  the  stories  of  the  old  town  as  he  tells  them. 

"You  see,  it  was  in  the  old  house  that  used  to  stand  down 
the  road  below  here  that  my  great-grandfather,  Cornelius 
Van  Tassel,  lived  when  he  was  captured  by  the  British  and 
taken  to  New  York  to  the  old  sugar  house  prison,"  he 
told  us.  We  were  all  out  on  the  sunny  veranda  at  the  rear 
of  the  house,  and  as  the  Colonel  began,  the  family  cat  drew 
up  and  solemnly  seated  herself,  apparently  to  listen  to  a 
favorite  tale.  "The  British  and  Tories  had  been  making 
plenty  of  trouble  hereabout,  and  it  struck  their  fancy  to  burn 
my  great-grandfather's  dwelling,  which  was  a  very  good  one 
for  that  period.  But  although  that  building  perished  there 
was  soon  a  new  one  to  replace  it  on  the  same  site,  and  you'll 
find  the  second,  now  ancient  enough,  standing  there  today." 

If  you  will  stroll  down  there  you  will  see  the  house  in 
good  preservation,  an  excellent  example  of  the  old  architec- 
ture of  the  Sleepy  Hollow  School. 

After  the  original  house  had  been  burned  and  Van  Tassel 
carried  off  prisoner,  his  wife  hid  in  an  earth  cellar.  It  was  a 


80 


HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 


few  nights  after  the  disaster  that  she  heard  the  sound  of 
hoofs  and  thought  the  British  were  coming  again.  But  sud- 
denly she  recognized  a  familiar  whinny,  and  peered  out  to 
see  silhouetted  in  the  moonlight,  her  pet  horse,  which  had 
been  driven  off  by  the  enemy  and  was  now  returning  to  his 
beloved  home.  It  is  said  that  she  ran  out  from  the  cellar, 
threw  her  arms  around  his  neck,  and  kissed  him.  We  can 
realize  that  the  comradeship  of  a  companion  like  this  must 
have  been  a  great  comfort  in  her  loneliness ;  for  eleven 
months  and  eleven  days  Van  Tassell  remained  a  prisoner. 

"When  you  cross  the  little  bridge  where  the  river  inter- 
sects the  main  street  you  can  think  of  it  as  the  spot  where 
old   Storm's  Bridge  used  to  stand,"  the  Colonel  told  us 
"The  old  one  gave  out,  but  this  was  built  in  exactly  the  same 
place." 

And  then  he  went  on  to  tell  us  abont  old  Storm's  Bridge. 
Washington,  coming  down  the  Sawmill  road  with  Rocham- 
beau was  met  at  this  bridge  by  his  chief  <l™«™«. 
"You  cannot  go  further,"  was  the  message  which  hal  ed 
him    "The  British  are  campmg  just  below.      This  was  a 
Uprise  to  the  chief,  who  had  laid  plans  that  d,d  not  at  all 
h7m"niZe  with  a  British  camp  in  the ^  neighbor ood an 
thereupon  he  and  Rochambeau  rode  on  to  the    Feathers'on* 
House"  to  hold  conference.    This  house  was  much  used  by 
Wash  ngton  when  in  this  neighborhood,  and  you  car ,  v.s  t 
iTtoday  and  see  it  just  as  it  was  in  the  seventeen  hundreds 
Up  the  main  street  a  block  or  so  you  will  find  a  road  lead- 
ing off  opposite  the  Catholic  Church.    A  short  waft  toward 
he  southeast  on  this  road  brings  you  to  the  budding^    It 
s  Inown  as  the  Featherstone  House  to  all  the  dweUers ^here- 
about, and  by  this,  its  modern  name,  ,s  easdy  located. 

The  present  owner  met  us  and  showed  us  about  cordially. 
We  admired  the  preservation  of  the  building. 


A  VISIT  TO  ELMSFORD  81 

"Well,  I'm  sorry  we  haven't  rebuilt  it,"  he  responded 
apologetically.  "We  did  want  to  run  up  a  mansard,  and 
make  a  new  porch,  and  change  the  old  place  and  bring  it 
up  to  date,  but  we  haven't  got  around  to  it  yet." 

We  implored  that  he  might  never  "get  around  to  it."  The 
joy  of  finding  any  Revolutionary  building  intact,  roof,  win- 
dows, doors,  and  all,  is  nothing  less  than  a  solemn  joy.  It 
may  be  unkind  to  wish  Mr.  Featherstone  a  lack  of  pros- 
perity, but  if  riches  would  sprout  a  mansard  and  a  new 
porch  on  that  delightful  little  weather-beaten  dwelling,  who 
can  wish  him  the  riches  ? 

"Is  the  well  very  old  ?"  we  asked  him. 

"You  can't  call  it  new,"  he  replied,  "since  Jacob  Iselin,  the 
one  that  used  to  come  over  this  way  from  New  Rochelle— 
he's  dead,  you  know — said  he'd  ridden  by  this  place  for  fifty 
years  and  he's  never  passed  without  stoppin'  for  a  drink 
from  it." 

Perhaps  Washington  and  Rochambeau  drank  from  it — 
who  knows  ? 

"You  can't  see  the  currant  bushes  today,  but  you  can  see 
where  they  sto>od  when  Jim  Husted  hid  in  them,"  Colonel 
Hamilton  had  told  us  with  a  chuckle.  "That  was  in  1777. 
Our  men  had  been  having  a  little  skirmish  with  the  British 
near  here,  and  we  had  done  for  them — took  Barrymore  and 
all  his  men,  or  so  the  Americans  thought.  It  wasn't  till  after- 
ward that  it  was  discovered  that  Jim  Husted,  the  British 
guide,  had  escaped,  and  had  saved  himself  by  hiding  in  the 
currant  bushes  of  what  is  now  the  Featherstone  House." 

Now  to  go  back  to  the  conference  of  Washington  and 
Rochambeau  in  that  house. 

"After  they  had  talked  matters  over,"  Colonel  Hamilton 
told  us,  "they  decided  that  the  French  had  better  not  proceed 
as  they  had  been  ordered  to  do,  so  Washington  ordered  the 
quartermaster  to  ride  back  to  Storm's  Bridge  and  stop  them, 
and  order  them  to  camp  here  over  night.    But  when  the  offi- 


82  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

cer  got  back  to  this  place  he  found  that  they  had  gone  on 
up  the  road — maybe  they  hadn't  understood  the  command 
in  English — and  they  had  marched  on  in  such  heat  as  they'd 
never  seen  before,  and  four  hundred  of  them  were  over- 
come. So  they  were  taken  on  to  the  French  hospital,  and 
if  you  go  on  to  White  Plains  you  can  see  that  building  to- 
day, at  the  second  passing  of  the  trolley  cars,  a  bit  to  the 
south  of  the  track." 

Directly  on  the  main  street  we  found  the  Ledger  House 
that  the  Colonel  had  told  us  about.  "It's  a  good  deal 
changed  since  the  days  when  Abraham  Storm  built  it,"  he 
had  said.  "Storm  himself  wouldn't  know  it  now.  He  was  a 
captain  and  a  mighty  active  man  from  the  beginning  of  the 
war.  He  put  up  that  house,  but  the  British  set  fire  to  it, 
and  only  a  part  of  the  building  was  saved.  What  was 
saved  is  still  standing,  though,  and  you're  looking  at  it  when 
you  look  at  that  hotel." 

This  was  the  Storm  for  whom  the  bridge  was  named. 

We  turned  south  near  the  railroad,  and  a  minute's  walk 
brought  us  to  the  old  church  facing  close  upon  the  road. 
Next  to  it  stands  the  pastor's  house.  The  very  charming 
young  lady  who  resides  there  was  good  enough  to  take  out 
a  marvelous  key  and  show  us  into  the  church.  This  key 
is  the  original  one,  and  it  creaks  in  its  huge  old  lock  with  a 
rheumatic  sound. 

In  1788  the  church  is  supposed  to  have  been  built,  al- 
though the  loss  of  its  records  leaves  a  cloud  hanging  about 
its  earliest  history.  Within  and  without  it  is  typical  of  the 
severity  of  that  period.  American  settlers  built  their  houses 
of  worship  for  worship  alone  then,  having  no  money  for 
display.  The  old-time  gallery  is  there  and  the  bare  walls 
without  adornment  of  magnificent  windows  or  tablets.  The 
church-going  of  the  seventeen  hundreds  was  severe  as  well 
as  the  preaching.  The  Rev.  Thomas  Smith  traveled  all  the 
way  from  Sleepy  Hollow  to  hold  regular  services  here  and 


A   VISIT    TO    ELMSFORD  83 

the  farmers  flocked  to  pray.  Thus  this  parish  was  linked 
with  the  famous  Dutch  church  which  calls  up  all  the  Irving 
tradition  by  its  mere  name. 

Many  an  old  record  may  he  read  on  the  crumbling  stones. 
Here  are  seen  such  familiar  names  as  "Van  Tassel," 
"Romer,"  and  "Van  Wart."  Among  the  newer  stones  is  a 
monument  erected  to  the  memory  of  Isaac  Van  Wart  by 
the  County  of  Westchester.  The  inscription  reminds  you 
that  in  September,  1780,  "Isaac  Van  Wart,  accompanied  by 
John  Paulding  and  David  Williams,  all  farmers  in  the 
county,  intercepted  Major  Andre  on  his  return  from  the 
American  lines  in  the  character  of  a  spy,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  large  bribes  offered  them  for  his  release,  nobly 
disdaining  to  sacrifice  their  country  for  gold,  secured  and 
carried  him  to  the  commander  of  the  district,  whereby  the 
dangerous  and  traitorous  conspiracy  of  Arnold  was  brought 
to  light,  the  insidious  designs  of  the  enemy  baffled,  the 
American  army  saved,  and  our  beloved  country  now  free 
and  independent,  rescued  from  most  imminent  peril." 

Here,  then,  sleeps  the  captor  of  Andre,  honored  by  his 
countrymen,  while  across  the  river  stands  a  monument 
which  generously  honors  the  spy  himself,  erected  by  the 
same  people  who  captured  and  hanged  him.  It  is  a  signifi- 
cant fact,  in  token  of  "those  better  feelings  which  have  since 
united  the  two  nations." 

Fenced  in  with  Van  Wart's  fine  monument  is  a  quaint 
little  slab  snuggling  at  its  base.  Here,  beside  her  husband, 
lies  Rachel  Storm  Van  Wart. 

Greenburgh  and  Hall's  Corners  are  the  names  by  which 
the  modern  Elmsford  was  known  in  earlier  years.  On 
one  of  the  old  maps  the  spot  appears  to  be  indicated  by 
the  mark  "Tavern,"  and  a  mile  or  two  to  the  north  we  find 
another  "Tavern."  The  latter  was  probably  at  the  Four 
Corners,  the  place  where  there  were  warlike  noises  in  1776 
and  thereafter  for  some  years. 


84  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

The  Four  Corners  lay  on  the  road  that  led  from  Sleepy 
Hollow  to  what  is  now  North  White  Plains,  at  the  point 
where  this  road  intersected  the  Sawmill  Road.  At  present 
there  is  not  a  landmark  left  on  the  place  except  an  old  school 
house  on  the  site  where  Paulding  went  to  school  in  the 
original  building.    The  Paulding  farm  adjoined  it. 

But  a  century  and  more  ago !  It  was  a  different  spot  then. 
At  the  Four  Corners  stood  the  home  of  Joseph  Youngs,  and 
the  American  troops  found  this  dwelling  a  most  convenient 
place  to  make  headquarters  Accordingly  they  came  there 
and  remained  there,  the  commanders  living  in  the  house, 
and  the  soldiers  occupying  the  many  outbuildings  as  bar- 
racks.   Military  stores  and  provisions  were  hoarded  there. 

From  August  of  '76  to  February  of  '80  the  Americans 
were  quartered  here  much  of  the  time,  and  many  were  the 
skirmishes  in  and  about  the  old  Four  Corners.  At  one 
time  Capt.  Williams  of  the  American  army,  with  his  forty 
men,  was  attacked  by  British  refugees.  The  Captain,  a 
party  of  soldiers,  and  Joseph  Youngs  himself,  were  taken 
prisoners.  For  a  year  poor  Youngs  was  confined  in  New 
York  city,  while  his  barn  up  at  Four  Corners  was  burned 
by  the  British,  and  a  large  stock  of  cattle  stolen.  Later 
a  petition  of  Martha,  Samuel,  and  Thomas  Youngs, 
recorded  the  fact  that  in  February,  1780,  there  was  an 
attack  on  the  post  by  1,000  British  trOops  and  refugees,  and 
"all  the  clothing,  bedding,  and  furniture  of  said  Joseph 
Youngs  destroyed  at  that  inclement  season  of  the  year." 

But  of  all  the  delightful  legends  with  which  this  region 
abounds  none  is  so  delightful  as  that  of  Cooper  and  his 
"Westchester  Spy."  Here  the  tale  was  laid,  the  site  of  the 
hamlet  of  the  Four  Corners  was  the  stage  of  that  drama. 
According  to  Bolton,  a  little  west  of  the  Van  Wart  resi- 
dence stood  the  "Hotel  Flanagan,  a  place  of  refuge  for  man 
and  beast."  The  sign  "Elizabeth  Flanagan,  her  Hotel," 
hung  before  it.     Betty  Flanagan  lived  after  her  soldier 


A  VISIT  TO   ELMSFORD  85 

husband  had  fallen  for  his  country,  by  driving  a  cart  to 
various  military  encampments.  At  this  time  the  Virginia 
Cavalry  happened  to  be  making  the  Four  Corners  their  head- 
quarters, so  Betty  had  brought  her  cart  hither,  and  here, 
Bolton  tells  us,  she  was  stationed  when  the  lawless  Skinners 
dragged  in  the  pedlar  spy. 

But  the  most  interesting  item  recorded  in  the  history  of 
Betty  is  that  "she  is  said  to  have  invented  the  well-known 
beverage  vulgarly  called  'cocktail.'"  If  this  be  true,  no 
wonder  Elizabeth  Flanagan  and  her  hotel  live  in  history. 
— New  York  Times,  July  19,  1914. 


A  BIT  OF  THE  NEUTRAL  GROUND. 


By  B.  H.  Dean. 


"Heh,  boy !"  I  cried,  from  my  perch  on  a  pile  of  railroad 
ties ;  "Hey,  there !    Where's  'Gallows  Elm'  ?" 

The  country  stillness  was  so  intense  that  the  call  carried 
well,  and  the  youthful  fisherman,  bare- footed  and  in  pic- 
turesque attire,  reluctantly  pulled  his  line  from  the  little 
river  and  ran  toward  me. 

"What's  that,"  he  called,  "Wh'd  you  say?" 

"Gallows  Elm,"  I  replied — "don't  you  know  about  the 
wonderful  old  elm  ?"  and  then,  because  he  was  lost  in  bewil- 
derment, I  added — "You  see,  boy,  I've  found  the  old  church 
and  the  monument,  but  now  I'm  after  that  particular  old  elm 
tree  that  has  such  a  reputation — and  aren't  there  any  other 
historic  old  places  around  here?" 

The  boy  straightened  himself  and  looked  me  squarely  in 
the  eyes :  "No,"  he  said,  "we  hain't  got  none  now — but  we're 
goin'  to  build  some." 

"Good  for  you  and  for  your  principles,  old  man,"  I  an- 
swered, but,  as  I  'viewed  the  landscape  o'er,'  a  fervent  hope 
entered  my  heart  that  the  demon  of  progress  would  never 
get  started  on  this  quiet,  sleepy  old  place. 

Just  a  tiny  hamlet  set  down  in  the  green  valley ;  the  shin- 
ing track  of  the  railroad  crossed  by  the  trolley  line,  that  fol- 
lowed the  highway,  over  the  hills    forming  a  center  about 

86 


A  BIT  OF  THE  NEUTRAL  GROUND        87 

which  clustered  a  few  modest  homes,  the  general  store,  the 
hotel,  the  postoffice,  and  the  picturesque  little  station.  Very 
peaceful  and  remote  from  the  city  it  seemed;  a  place  in 
which  to  rest  and  let  thoughts  wander  on  pleasant  themes. 
Even  a  team  of  oxen  in  a  nearby  meadow  took  life  with 
placid  unconcern,  lazily  following  their  master's  lead,  and 
pulling  the  harrow  through  the  soft  mold. 

Such  is  Elmsford  now,  but  places  sometimes  resemble 
people,  in  that  the  quiet  ones  have  known  a  turbulent  past. 

Before  the  morning  was  over  I  found  a  man  who  had 
been  born  and  raised  in  the  Nepperhan  Valley  and  who, 
moreover,  was  a  great-grandson  of  Alexander  Hamilton. 

As  I  sat  on  the  doorstep  of  his  home  and  heard  him  talk, 
there  came  insistently  to  mind  portions  of  Spartacus'  speech 
to  the  gladiators:  "An  old  man  was  telling  of  Marathon 
and  Leuctra  and  how,  in  ancient  times,  a  little  band  of 
Spartans,  in  a  defile  of  the  mountains,  had  withstood  a  whole 
army,"  for  round  about  these  parts  the  great  spirit  of  the 
Revolution  flourished  in  mighty  strength. 

"Gallows  Elm,"  he  said,  "that's  all  nonsense !  You  see,  a 
good  many  years  ago  this  vicinity  was  called  Greenburg, 
but  one  day  our  neighbors  to  the  south  decided  to  have  a 
little  town  of  their  own  and  they  called  it  Ashford,  although 
there  wasn't  an  ash  tree  in  the  place.  Well,  three  or  four  of 
us  prominent  citizens  were  talking  it  over  up  at  the  corner 
grocery,  and  we  made  up  our  minds  we  would  be  known  as 
"Elmsford,"  in  honor  of  the  great  tree  that  stood  at  the 
crossroads.  The  elm  was  big  and  strong  then,  with  wide- 
spreading  branches,  but  the  lightning  found  it  a  year  or  two 
ago,  and  I  suppose  it  is  bound  to  go  the  way  of  all  things 
earthly. 

"There  is  no  Ashford  now,  though,  for  after  Cyrus  W. 
Field,  of  ocean  cable  fame,  established  his  country  seat 
there,  and  named  it  'Ardsley  Court,'  the  town  was  rechrist- 
ened  'Ardsley'  in  compliment  to  him." 


88  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

He  told  me  about  the  little  old  church,  whose  earliest 
records  have  gone  astray,  but  which  dates  back  apparently 
to  1788;  how  he  could  remember  attending  service  there 
when  they  had  but  one  hymnal,  and  then,  after  a  while,  a 
very  wealthy  man  came  from  over  the  sea  and,  becoming  a 
member  of  the  congregation,  helped  them  financially,  and 
also  placed  two  extra  books  in  his  pew. 

We  went  into  the  little  parlor  where  the  air  was  heavy 
with  the  odor  of  lilacs,  and  there  were  many  books  and 
pictures,  and  strange  old  documents  framed  for  security; 
and  he  showed  me  parts  of  a  Revolutionary  uniform  which 
had  belonged  to  his  grandfather;  the  old  flintlock  musket, 
heavy  to  raise  to  the  shoulder,  and  the  wooden  canteen, 
clumsy  and  dust-covered,  but  eloquent  of  other  days.  And 
there  was  an  old  pewter  basin,  somewhat  battered  and  time- 
worn,  but  a  highly  prized  relic,  for  it  was  in  this  that  the 
captors  of  Major  Andre  had  carried  their  lunch  that  fateful 
day  which,  luckily  for  us  Americans,  terminated  as  it  did. 
I  touched  the  dish  reverently,  for  with  me  tangible  things 
have  a  great  significance.  When  I  stood  in  the  little  church- 
yard reading  the  inscription  on  the  monument  erected  in 
honor  of  Isaac  Van  Wart,  one  of  the  men  who  would  not 
barter  country  for  gold,  it  had  all  seemed  very  distant,  but 
this  common  household  article  added  the  realism  which  had 
been  lacking. 

And  as  I  was  about  to  leave  he  invited  me  into  the  garden, 
beautiful  with  blossoming  plants  and  fragrant  with  the 
"minty"  perfume  peculiar  to  the  country.  One  great  bush 
of  bridal-wreath,  in  its  luxuriance,  reached  out  over  the 
grassy  walk  until  its  soft  blossoms  brushed  against  my  face, 
and  a  few  misty  flowers  fluttered  over  the  lawn  and  were 
caught  by  the  heavier  breeze  and  carried  down  the  road  and 
far  away. 

And  my  host  pointed  to  two  companion  trees,  standing  in 
an  open  space,  on  a  distant  hilltop ;  one  dark  like  an  ever- 
green, and  the  other  fresh  like  a  young  maple.     "Sentinel 


A  BIT  OF  THE  NEUTRAL  GROUND  89 

Rock  is  yonder,"  he  said,  "the  rendezvous  of  the  soldiers, 
and  from  it  could  be  had  a  view  of  the  camps  of  Washington 
and  Rochambeau.  It  was  up  there  young  Van  Tassel  went 
that  bleak  night  in  November,  when  the  British  burned  his 
father's  house,  and  he  escaped  by  strategy,  covering  himself 
with  a  blanket  and  carrying  out  a  piece  of  furniture  along- 
side of  the  marauders.  You'll  find  the  old  house  down  the 
road  about  a  mile.  It's  been  rebuilt  and  someone  is  living 
there." 

From  small  beginnings  there  sometimes  come  such  large 
returns.  I  started  out  that  morning  to  find  a  tree,  attracted 
by  its  fanciful  name.  I  found  instead  a  pastoral  region 
peopled  in  imagination  by  such  an  army  of  ghosts  that  the 
days  of  '76  were  as  yesterday ;  and  to  my  mind  was  brought 
more  forcibly  the  meaning  of  the  Revolution,  and  an  ap- 
preciation of  the  fearful  odds  against  which  those  men,  our 
forefathers,  wrought.  In  and  about  the  Neutral  Ground 
stalks  many  a  battle-scarred  wraith,  but  the  unseeing,  care- 
less eye  passes  them  by,  catching  only  at  meaningless  baubles 
that  glitter  in  the  sunlight. — New  York  Central  Lines,  Four 
Track  News,  November,  1904. 


HEROES  OF  THE  NEUTRAL  GROUND. 


By  John  P.  Ritter. 


The  valley  of  the  Neperan,  or  Sawmill  river,  in  West- 
chester county,  N.  Y.,  is  situated  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
Neutral  Ground  of  the  Revolution — that  debatable  territory 
lying  between  the  rival  armies,  when  the  British  were  in  pos- 
session of  Manhattan  Island  and  the  Americans  occupied 
the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson. 

A  railroad  winds  through  it  now,  and  it  is  fast  losing  the 
pastoral  charm  for  which  it  was  once  famous.  Fields  that 
formerly  waved  with  grain  are  dotted  with  cheap  wooden 
villages ;  pastures  where  sleek  cattle  browsed  are  intersected 
with  prospective  streets,  and  steam  factories  occupy  the  old 
mill  sites  where  creaking  water-wheels  once  lazily  turned. 
Landmarks  invested  with  historic  and  traditionary  interest 
are  rapidly  disappearing ;  everywhere  the  romantic  is  being 
crowded  out  by  the  commonplace. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  the  valley  lies  between  Wood- 
lands and  the  Pocantico  Hills  ;  here  resided,  during  the  Revo- 
lution, a  band  of  obscure  heroes,  whose  patriotic  devotion 
and  daring  exploits  have  never  been  worthily  recorded.  After 
the  retreat  of  Washington  and  his  army  from  White  Plains, 
the  Neutral  Ground  "became  infested  by  roving  bands, 
claiming  either  side,  British  or  American,  and  all  pretend- 
ing to  redress  wrongs  and  punish  political  offenses;  but  all 

90 


HEROES  OF  THE  NEUTRAL  GROUND       91 

prone,  in  the  exercise  of  their  high  functions,  to  sack  hen- 
roosts, drive  off  cattle,  and  lay  farmhouses  under  contri- 
bution." 

"Such,"  says  Irving,  in  his  chronicle  of  Wolfert's  Roost, 
"was  the  origin  of  two  great  orders  of  border  chivalry,  the 
Skinners  and  the  Cow  Boys,  famous  in  Revolutionary  story ; 
the  former  fought,  or  rather  marauded,  under  the  American, 
the  latter  under  the  British,  banner.  In  the  zeal  of  service 
both  were  apt  to  make  blunders,  and  confound  the  property 
of  friend  and  foe.  Neither  of  them,  in  the  heat  and  hurry  of 
a  foray,  had  time  to  ascertain  the  politics  of  a  horse  or  cow 
which  they  were  driving  off  into  captivity;  nor,  when  they 
wrung  the  neck  of  a  rooster,  did  they  trouble  their  heads 
whether  he  crowed  for  Congress  or  King  George.  To 
check  these  enormities  a  confederacy  was  formed  among 
the  yeomanry  who  had  suffered  from  these  maraudings.  It 
was  composed  for  the  most  part  of  farmers'  sons,  bold, 
hard-riding  lads,  well  armed  and  well  mounted,  and  under- 
took to  clear  the  country  round  of  Skinner  and  Cow  Boy, 
and  all  other  border  vermin ;  as  the  Holy  Brotherhood  in  old 
times  cleared  Spain  of  the  banditti  which  infested  her  high- 
ways." 

Several  companies  were  organized,  each  having  a  specified 
district  to  protect.  The  first  company  was  stationed  at 
Yonkers,  so  near  the  British  outposts  that  it  did  but  little 
effective  service ;  the  second  had  its  headquarters  farther 
north,  in  what  is  now  the  village  of  Elmsford ;  while  a  few 
miles  north  of  the  second  was  stationed  the  third  company, 
guarding  the  Upper  Crossroads.  Together  they  formed 
the  Southern  Battalion  of  Westchester  Militiamen,  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Joseph  Drake. 

Among  those  who  enlisted  in  the  second  company  were 
Cornelius  and  Peter  Van  Tassel,  Hendrick  Romer,  Abraham 
Martling,  Jacob  Acker,  Peter  Bout,  Solomon  Utter,  Nich- 
olas Boncker  and  Jacob  and  Abraham  Boyce ;  and  in  the 
third  company  Jacob  Romer  and  his  five  sons,  John  and 


92  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

Gibbert  Dean,  Isaac  See  and  John  Yerks — all  uncompromis- 
ing patriots,  who  remained  faithful  to  their  country  in  the 
face  of  many  hardships,  and  performed  prodigies  of  valor 
which  render  them  as  deserving  of  a  place  in  history  as  are 
their  more  fortunate  comrades-in-arms,  Paulding,  Williams 
and  Van  Wart,  the  immortal  captors  of  Major  John  Andre. 
For  these  humble  heroes  were  obliged  to  wage  continuous 
warfare  with  the  enemy,  and  to  keep  ever  on  the  alert  to 
defend  themselves  and  neighbors  against  the  frequent  in- 
vasions of  pillaging  Cow  Boys  and  Hessian  troopers. 

The  brunt  of  the  unequal  strife  was  borne  by  the  second 
or  middle  company,  of  which  Abraham  Storms  was  the 
captain,  and  Cornelius  Van  Tassel  and  Abraham  Martling 
the  lieutenants.  Its  headquarters  were  in  Van  Tassel's 
farmhouse,  on  the  old  Sawmill  River  road,  one  mile 
south  of  Elmsford.  Indeed,  Elmsford  and  its  vicinity  are 
covered  over  with  relics  and  landmarks  of  the  Revolution ; 
every  stick  and  stone  is  associated  with  some  thrilling  inci- 
dent of  the  past.  The  present  village  stands  on  a  plain 
which,  in  those  eventful  times,  was  occupied  by  the  farms 
of  several  members  of  the  second  company.  Peter  Van 
Tassel,  Jacob  Acker,  Abraham  Martling,  Jacob  Boyce,  Solo- 
mon Utter  and  Hendrick  Romer  lived  in  the  valley,  or  on 
the  sloping  hillsides  which  enclosed  it,  and  Captain  Storm 
himself  ran  a  tavern  in  the  settlement.  The  farmhouse  of 
Cornelius  Van  Tassel  is  situated  at  the  southern  extremity 
of  this  plain ;  and  here  the  highway  leading  to  New  York 
turns  westward,  and  then  southward  again,  to  pass  through 
a  wooded  ravine,  where  the  hills  on  both  sides  of  the  Nep- 
eran  approach  each  other  shutting  out  a  view  of  the  country 
below.  This  conformation  of  the  land  rendered  the  yeo- 
manry of  the  district  peculiarly  liable  to  surprise  by  forag- 
ing parties  of  the  enemy,  who,  concealed  by  the  ravine, 
could  approach  to  the  very  confines  of  the  plain  before  their 
presence  was  discovered. 


HEROES  OF  THE  NEUTRAL  GROUND       93 

In  order  to  provide  against  such  a  contingency,  the  patri- 
ots selected  a  rocky  fastness  on  Beaver  Mountain,  west  of 
the  settlement,  for  a  hiding  place,  to  which  they  could  resort 
for  safety  whenever  the  British  came  up  the  valley  in  too 
great  force  to  be  successfully  resisted,  and  established  a 
signal  station  on  a  hill  opposite.  Their  watch  tower  was  an 
enormous  boulder,  which  is  still  known  by  its  Revolutionary 
name,  "Sentinel  Rock,"  from  the  summit  of  which  the  road 
running  southward  through  the  valley  can  be  seen  for  miles. 
Whenever  a  detachment  of  Delancey's  Rangers,  or  a  troop 
of  Hessian  cavalry,  were  descried  advancing  by  the  sentinel 
on  watch,  he  gave  the  signal  for  his  neighbors  to  collect  their 
valuables  and  make  for  their  stronghold  by  blowing  a  loud 
blast  on  a  horn.  Then  the  cattle  were  driven  into  the  woods, 
and  the  men,  arming  themselves  with  the  flintlock  muskets 
of  those  days,  escorted  the  women  and  children  to  their 
place  of  refuge  on  Beaver  Mountain.  Here,  on  a  natural 
platform  of  rock,  the  fugitives  pitched  their  camp.  The 
inaccessibility  of  the  place  secured  them  from  assault,  and 
they  were  partly  protected  from  the  weather  by  an  over- 
hanging precipice  that  towered  above  the  platform  on  the 
western  side. 

When  the  enemy  arrived  at  the  farmhouses,  they  found 
them  emptied  of  their  valuables  and  deserted.  In  revenge 
they  devastated  the  fields  and  burned  down  the  barns,  after 
securing  all  the  provender  they  could  carry  away.  Some- 
times, however,  they  were  not  allowed  to  escape  with  their 
booty.  On  one  occasion,  at  least,  the  patriots  surprised 
them  in  their  depredations,  and  drove  them  away  with  con- 
siderable loss.  In  a  field,  formerly  owned  by  Cornelius  Van 
Tassel,  where  an  old  apple-tree  once  stood,  lie  the  remains  of 
a  Hessian  trooper  and  five  other  marauders,  who  were  killed 
in  that  skirmish. 

During  one  of  the  inroads  of  the  British  up  the  valley, 
Christina  Romer,  the  wife  of  Hendrick  Romer,  the  militia- 
man, acted  the  part  of  a  heroine.    Their  farmhouse  was  situ- 


94  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

a  ted  at  the  foot  of  Beaver  Mountain,  and  was  separated 
from  the  forest  that  covered  the  slope  by  a  stone  wall. 
Christina  had  stayed  behind  the  other  fugitives — who  had 
fled  to  the  hiding  place  on  hearing  the  first  signal  of  the  horn 
from  "Sentinel  Rock" — and  was  surprised  by  the  enemy 
before  she  could  make  good  her  escape.  They  immediately 
pressed  her  into  service  to  bake  bread  and  roast  the  ribs  of 
an  ox  they  had  secured  in  their  foray,  in  the  big  Dutch  oven 
in  the  chimney  of  her  kitchen.  While  performing  this  task 
it  occurred  to  her  that  her  neighbors  in  hiding  on  Beaver 
Mountain  were  more  in  need  of  food  than  her  enemies. 
So  she  set  apart  a  goodly  portion  of  the  bread  and  beef 
with  the  idea  of  supplying  their  wants  at  the  first  opportun- 
ity. In  the  meantime  she  waited  upon  the  British  troopers 
with  a  cheerfulness  and  alacrity  artfully  calculated  to  disarm 
them  of  suspicion.  When  they  were  resting  after  the  meal, 
and  she  was  supposed  to  be  washing  dishes  in  the  kitchen, 
she  quietly  slipped  out  of  the  back  door,  crossed  the  yard 
to  the  stone  wall,  and  deposited  the  provisions  she  had  saved 
on  the  side  next  the  forest.  She  knew  very  well  that  the 
house  was  being  closely  watched  by  her  friends  on  the  moun- 
tain, and  that  her  movements  would  probably  be  seen  by 
one  of  their  scouts.  This  proved  to  be  the  case ;  for,  she  had 
barely  regained  the  kitchen,  when  Hendrick  Romer,  who 
had  been  watching  nearby  to  see  that  no  harm  befell  his 
wife,  secured  the  food  and  conveyed  it  to  the  fugitives.  The 
British  lodged  in  the  farmhouse  several  days,  and  each  day 
Christina  managed  to  supply  her  friends  with  food  from 
their  larder.  Had  it  not  been  for  her  thoughtfulness  and 
courage  they  must  have  perished  from  hunger,  as  they  were 
wholly  without  provisions  to  undergo  so  long  a  siege.  The 
ruins  of  the  Romer  farmhouse  and  the  stone  wall  behind 
which  the  militiaman'9  wife  secreted  the  bread  and  meat  are 
pointed  out  to  strangers  by  the  descendants  of  this  patriotic 
woman,  who  still  reside  in  the  neighborhood. 
On  the  night  of  November  17,  1777,  a  large  band  of  Brit- 


HEROES  OF  THE  NEUTRAL  GROUND       95 

ish  troopers  and  Cow  Boys,  commanded  by  the  notorious 
Captain  Emmerick,  made  an  excursion  up  the  Sawmill 
Valley,  and  completely  surprised  the  little  settlement.  After 
setting  fire  to  the  tavern  of  Captain  Abraham  Storm,  they 
surrounded  the  houses  of  Cornelius  and  Peter  Van  Tassel, 
Which  stood  on  adjoining  farms,  and  called  upon  the  in- 
mates to  come  out  and  surrender  themselves.  Instead  of 
complying,  the  gallant  brothers  discharged  their  muskets  at 
their  besiegers,  and  made  a  strong  show  of  resistance.  This 
so  enraged  the  British  that  they  set  fire  to  both  houses  and 
burned  them  to  the  ground.  Driven  out  by  the  flames,  the 
brave  yeomen,  who  had  defended  their  homes  single-handed 
against  a  host  of  enemies,  were  forced  to  deliver  themselves 
up.  The  inhuman  Captain  Emmerick  allowed  their  wives 
and  children  to  be  stripped  of  the  necessary  apparel  to  cover 
them  from  the  severity  of  a  bitterly  cold  night,  and  led  the 
captive  brothers  in  triumph  to  New  York.  Tied  to  their 
horses'  tails,  they  were  compelled  to  drive  their  own  cattle 
into  the  camp  of  the  enemy.  The  wife  of  Cornelius  Van 
Tassel  sought  refuge  in  an  old  dirt  cellar  in  the  farmyard, 
carrying  her  infant  daughter  in  her  arms.  Here  they  were 
discovered,  half-clad  and  shivering  with  the  cold,  by  a  Hes- 
sian trooper,  who,  touched  by  their  pitiable  condition,  threw 
them  a  feather  mattress  that  he  had  taken  from  the  burning 
house — an  act  of  mercy  which  undoubtedly  saved  their  lives, 
as  they  remained  in  the  dirt  cellar  until  the  following  night, 
with  no  other  covering  than  the  mattress  to  shield  them 
from  the  rigor  of  the  weather.  Then,  shortly  after  dark, 
Mrs.  Van  Tassel  heard  the  neighing  of  a  horse  in  the  farm- 
yard. It  proved  to  be  one  of  the  animals  that  had  been 
driven  off  by  the  enemy  the  night  before  and  that  had  evi- 
dently escaped  from  its  new  quarters  below  to  return  to  its 
old  home.  The  faithful  creature  carried  the  mother  and 
child  to  friends  living  near  the  Upper  Cross  Roads. 

No  account  of  the  surprise  and  capture  of  the  Van  Tassel 
brothers  would  be  complete  without  a  description  of  the 


96  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

daring  bravery  displayed  by  the  son  of  Cornelius  Van  Tassel 
upon  that  occasion.  When  the  British  surrounded  his  father's 
house,  and  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  inmates,  Cor- 
nelius Van  Tassel,  Jr.,  was  asleep  in  his  room  in  the  attic. 
His  slumbers  were  rudely  broken  by  the  discharge  of  his 
father's  musket,  and,  taking  his  own  weapon  from  its  hook 
on  the  wall,  he  engaged  actively  in  the  defense  of  their 
home.  Even  When  the  house  was  in  flames,  and  the  rest  of 
the  family  had  been  driven  out  by  fire  and  smoke,  it  never 
occurred  to  him  to  surrender;  but,  crouching  behind  the 
kitchen  door,  he  awaited  an  opportunity  to  escape  from  the 
burning  building  to  the  refuge  on  Beaver  Mountain.  The 
British  troopers  were  standing  outside  in  groups,  gazing 
with  diabolical  satisfaction  at  the  conflagration  they  had 
caused,  when  suddenly  out  of  the  flames  sprang  a  bare- 
headed youth  wielding  a  clubbed  musket  in  both  hands. 
Before  they  could  recover  from  their  astonishment,  he  had 
felled  two  of  them  to  the  ground  and  was  off  across  the 
fields  to  the  Sawmill  River.  He  plunged  into  the  icy 
current  and  gained  the  other  side  amid  a  shower  of  bullets. 
Then,  halting  just  long  enough  to  send  a  parting  shot  at  the 
troopers  who  pursued  him,  he  resumed  his  flight  and  soon 
reached  a  place  of  safety.  The  Van  Tassel  brothers  were 
confined  for  nearly  a  year  in  the  Provost  Gaol,  New  York, 
as  prisoners  of  war,  and,  when  finally  exchanged,  found 
their  families  reduced  to  a  condition  of  pauperism. 

On  learning  of  the  disaster  that  had  befallen  his  friends, 
Abraham  Martling,  locally  known  as  "Brom  Marlin,"  medi- 
tated and  planned  a  signal  stroke  of  vengeance  which,  for 
boldness  of  conception  and  vigor  of  execution,  was  worthy 
of  one  of  Homer's  heroes.  Taking  into  his  confidence 
Jacob  Acker,  Nicholas  Boncker,  Jacob  Boyce  and  several 
other  militiamen  of  equal  courage,  he  repaired  to  the  station 
of  the  Water  Guard  at  Wolfert's  Roost,  on  the  Hudson,  and 
there  concocted  a  midnight  invasion  of  New  York  island 
to  pillage  and  burn  the  splendid  mansion  of  the  Tory  chief, 


HEROES  OP  THE  NEUTRAL  GROUND       97 

Oliver  Delancey,  situated  on  the  heights  of  Bloomingdale, 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  British  camp.  The  Water  Guard 
was  an  "aquatic  corps,  in  the  pay  of  government,  organized 
to  range  the  waters  of  the  Hudson  and  keep  watch  upon  the 
movements  of  the  enemy's  fleet.  It  was  composed  of  nau- 
tical men  of  the  river  and  hardy  youngsters  of  the  adjacent 
country,  expert  at  pulling  an  oar  and  handling  a  musket." 
The  captain  of  the  Wolfert's  Roost  station  was  Jacob  Van 
Tassel,  a  relative  of  the  captive  brothers — a  valiant  Dutch- 
man, whose  many  brave  deeds  have  been  immortalized  by 
Irving  in  his  chronicle  of  the  Roost. 

At  this  station  Martling  secured  two  light  whale-boats, 
manned  by  expert  river-men,  and,  early  in  the  evening  of 
November  25th,  1777,  embarked,  with  a  band  of  chosen 
heroes,  on  his  perilous  enterprise.  It  was  a  second  expedi- 
tion of  the  Argonauts,  with  Martling  for  its  Jason,  and  glory 
for  its  golden  fleece.  The  two  whaleboats,  shaped  like 
canoes  and  formed  to  skim  lightly  over  the  water,  were 
rowed  with  great  rapidity  down  the  river  until  the  territory 
of  the  enemy's  Water  Guard  was  reached ;  then  the  oars 
were  muffled,  and,  pulling  noiselessly  along  under  shadow 
of  the  land,  the  boats  glided  like  spectres  past  hostile  frigates 
and  guardships  to  their  destination.  There  Martling  and  his 
.band  disembarked,  and,  scaling  the  rugged  heights  of  Bloom- 
ingdale, surprised  the  patrol  at  Delancey's  Mansion,  pillaged 
,and  burned  the  great  house,  and,  before  the  enemy  could 
.recover  from  their  amazement,  made  good  their  retreat  to 
the  boats.  As  the  whole  river  was  now  illuminated  by  the 
conflagration,  their  escape  seemed  impossible ;  yet,  not- 
withstanding that  the  enemy's  fleet  were  warned  of  their 
presence  by  alarm  guns  on  the  shore,  so  gallantly  did  Van 
Tassel's  river-men  bend  to  their  oars,  that,  favored  by  their 
knowledge  of  every  sheltering  cove  and  protecting  promon- 
tory, they  eluded  the  guns  of  the  foe  and  reached  home  in 
safety. 


98  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

The  chief  glory  of  this  daring  exploit  rests  with  Abra- 
ham Martling,  its  projector.  A  more  ardent  patriot  never 
lived.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  War  he  en- 
listed in  the  Continental  Army,  and  saw  considerable  service 
in  the  principal  campaigns.  He  was  in  the  memorable 
Battle  of  Yorktown  and,  after  the  close  of  the  war,  retired 
to  his  little  farm  at  Elmsford,  where  he  died  January  1st, 
1841,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two  years.  While  pass- 
ing through  the  Neutral  Ground,  recently,  to  collect  mate- 
rial for  this  article,  I  visited  Martling's  grave,  in  the  little 
cemetery  of  the  Reformed  Church,  at  Elmsford,  and  was 
grieved  to  find  it  sadly  neglected.  The  modest  gravestone 
is  cracked  and  broken,  and  the  mound  covering  the  remains 
of  the  old  hero  overgrown  with  rank  grass  and  brambles. 
The  graves  of  several  other  Revolutionary  soldiers  in  this 
cemetery  are  in  a  similar  condition,  notably  that  of  Solo- 
mon Utter,  the  carpenter-soldier,  who  made  the  gallows  on 
which  Major  Andre  was  hanged.  His  tombstone  lies  in  two 
pieces  on  the  ground,  and  there  is  no  mound  to  indicate 
his  last  resting-place.  Even  the  granite  shaft  erected  over 
the  remains  of  Isaac  Van  Wart,  one  of  Andre's  captors,  by 
the  citizens  of  Westchester  county,  is  greatly  in  need  of 
repair. 

There  is  one  grave  in  the  cemetery,  however,  which  is 
cared  for  with  tender  solicitude.  It  is  that  of  John  Romer, 
a  militiaman  of  the  Revolution,  and  a  captain  in  the  War 
of  1812,  who  died  in  1855,  age  of  ninety-two,  in  the  house 
which  he  and  his  father-in-law,  Cornelius  Van  Tassel,  had 
erected  on  the  foundations  of  the  building  burned  by  Captain 
Emmerick  in  his  raid  up  the  Sawmill  Valley.  Captain  John 
Romer's  daughter  Angeline,  married  William  Hamilton,  a 
grandson  of  Alexander  Hamilton.  There  were  two  chil- 
dren of  this  marriage:  one,  Rev.  Edgar  A.  Hamilton, 
now  (1917)  of  Sussex,  N.  J.,  and  the  other,  Colonel  J.  C.  L. 
Hamilton,  who  gained  his  commission  in  the  Civil  War,  and 
now  lives  in  retirement  at  Elmsford,  within  a  stone's-throw 


HEROES  OF  THE  NEUTRAL  GROUND       99 

of  the  old  burying-ground,  to  whose  veneration  it  is  due  that 
the  veteran's  grave  is  kept  in  order. 

I  succeeded  in  persuading  Colonel  Hamilton  to  accom- 
pany me  through  the  historic  region  I  am  describing,  and  I 
could  not  have  found  a  better  guide.  Brought  up  in  this 
locality,  and  descended  from  the  Van  Tassels  and  Romers, 
he  lives  in  the  history  and  traditions  of  the  past.  He  is 
familiar  with  every  foot  of  the  Neutral  Ground,  and  is  in 
possession  of  a  fund  of  information  concerning  Revolution- 
ary events  and  characters,  obtained  direct  from  the  lips  of 
persons  who  lived  in  those  stirring  times.  He  told  me  that 
his  grandfather,  Captain  John  Romer,  was  one  of  the  band 
that  escorted  Major  Andre  to  Colonel  Jameson's  headquar- 
ters at  North  Castle,  on  the  day  of  his  capture.  John  Romer 
was  a  lad  of  seventeen  at  the  time ;  and  whenever  he  related 
the  circumstances  attending  the  apprehension  of  the  spy, 
in  later  life,  it  was  always  with  an  expression  of  regret  that 
John  Yerks,  the  militiaman  who  planned  the  expedition 
which  resulted  so  fortunately,  should  not  have  received 
equal  recognition  with  Paulding,  Williams  and  Van  Wart. 

On  the  day  preceding  Andre's  capture,  Yerks  proposed  to 
Paulding — both  of  them  being  at  that  time  stationed  in 
North  Salem — that  they  should  organize  a  party  to  gio  to 
the  vicinity  of  Tarrytown  to  prevent  cattle  being  driven 
down  toward  New  York,  and  to  seize  as  a  loyal  prize  any 
such  cows  or  oxen  as  might  be  destined  for  His  Majesty's 
troops  by  their  friends.  Paulding  at  first  objected ;  but, 
upon  further  consideration,  volunteered  his  services,  pro- 
vided they  could  induce  a  sufficient  number  to  accompany 
them.  Yerks  assured  him  that  this  could  be  easily  ac- 
complished, and  offered  to  procure  the  men,  while  Paulding 
should  obtain  the  necessary  permit  from  the  commanding 
officer.  While  the  latter  was  absent  on  this  errand,  Yerks 
enlisted  three  volunteers — Isaac  See,  James  Romer,  a 
brother  of  John  Romer,  and  Abraham  Williams.  Paulding 
soon  afterward  returned  with  the  permit,  accompanied  by 


100  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

his  friend,  Isaac  Van  Wart.  The  party,  now  consisting  of 
six,  took  the  direct  road  for  Cross  River,  where  they  were 
joined  by  David  Williams,  from  Bedford. 

They  passed  the  night  in  a  hay-barrack,  near  the  present 
Methodist  Church  at  Pleasantville,  and  early  the  next  morn- 
ing followed  the  windings  of  the  Sawmill  Valley  to  the 
house  of  Captain  Jacob  Romer,  the  father  of  one  of  their 
band,  where  they  obtained  breakfast,  and  a  basin  well  pro- 
vided for  their  dinner.  From  this  place  they  marched  to  the 
hill  immediately  above  Tarrytown,  where  it  was  agreed  that 
Paulding,  Van  Wart  and  David  Williams  should  guard  the 
road  below,  while  the  remaining  four  should  watch  the  one 
above,  with  the  full  understanding — according  to  the  story 
told  John  Romer  by  his  brother  James,  and  John  Yerks — 
that  whatever  might  be  taken  should  be  equally  divided 
among  the  whole  band.  The  upper  party  were  stationed 
two  hundred  yards  east  on  the  hill  above  the  lower  party ; 
yet  this  small  separation  lof  six  hundred  feet  proved  in  the 
sequel  to  constitute  all  the  vast  difference  between  immortal- 
ity and  obscurity.  The  names  of  Paulding,  Williams  and 
Van  Wart  are  emblazoned  on  the  pages  of  history,  while 
those  of  their  equally  deserving,  but  less  fortunate,  com- 
rades are  known  to  but  few. 

Immediately  after  the  capture  of  Andre  the  lower  party 
joined  the  upper,  and  all  proceeded  again  to  the  house  of 
Captain  Jacob  Romer,  where  they  partook  of  refreshments. 
Colonel  Hamilton  showed  me  the  pewter  basin  from  which 
they  ate.  It  was  bequeathed  to  him  by  his  grandfather, 
who  was  present  on  the  occasion,  and  afterward  accom- 
panied the  party  to  North  Castle.  He  also  showed  me  the 
military  equipment  of  a  Continental  soldier  which  was  worn 
at  one  time  by  John  Romer.  Upon  the  delivery  of  their 
prisoner  at  Colonel  Jameson's  headquarters,  the  seven 
patriots  separated,  little  imagining  the  importance  of  their 
prize.  That  Congress  should  afterward  have  recognized 
but  three  of  them — granting  them  medals  and  pensions — 


HEROES  OP  THE  NEUTRAL  GROUND      101 

without  taking  any  notice  of  the  other  four,  seems,  in  view 
of  the  circumstances  above  narrated,  to  have  been  an  act 
of  injustice.  The  house  in  which  Major  Andre  is  said  to 
have  slept  on  the  night  prior  to  his  apprehension  is  carefully 
preserved  on  the  estate  of  John  D.  Rockefeller,  a  little  north 
of  the  city  of  Tarrytown. — Frank  Leslie's  Popular  Monthly, 
July,  1897. 


HOW  $150  WILL  SAVE  PATRIOTS'  GRAVES. 


Historic  Greenburgh   Churchyard,  in  Westchester,   Needs 

Only  That  Much  to  Cover  a  Health  Tax— Noted 

Revolutionary  Fighters  Who  Lie  Under 

Its  Old  Stones. 


All  good  Revolutionary  soldiers  would  turn  in  their  graves 
if  they  knew  the  fate  that  may  fall  to  their  companions- 
in-arms  who  are  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  the  old  Green- 
burgh Reformed  Church,  at  Elmsford,  Westchester  county. 
For  a  tax  of  $150  has  been  levied  on  the  church  property  as 
its  share  of  the  burden  in  a  large  drainage  scheme,  and  the 
church  is  too  poor  to  pay  that  amount,  and  unless  it  does 
pay,  the  county  will  sell  the  property.  Then  the  "final  rest- 
ing place"  of  a  score  of  Revolutionary  heroes  might  be  the 
final  resting  place  no  more. 

Elmsford  has  a  railroad  station  of  its  own,  where  the 
Putnam  Division  of  the  New  York  Central  crosses  the 
trolley  line  from  White  Plains  to  Tarrytown.  It  has  also  a 
postofnce,  a  few  stores,  a  saloon,  and  at  least  one  garage. 
But  just  at  present  the  chief  center  of  interest  is  the  grave- 
yard by  the  old  church. 

There  is  nothing  especially  romantic  about  the  setting  of 
this  little  graveyard  today.  The  dust  from  hundreds  of 
automobiles,  returning  cityward  after  vacations,  sifts  around 
its  tombstones. 


102 


HOW   $150   WILL   SAVE   PATRIOTS'   GRAVES        103 

But  men  like  Colonel  Hamilton,  a  patriarch  of  the  town 
and  a  great-grandson  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  forget  railroad 
tracks  and  dust,  saLoons,  and  automobiles,  and  remember 
the  cemetery  as  it  used  to  be.  It  was  within  a  hundred  yards, 
they  recall,  that  one  of  the  battles  of  the  Revolutionary  War 
was  fought.  It  was  across  the  line  of  those  very  tracks  that 
Cornelius  Van  Tassel,  Jr.,  fled,  dodging  the  shots  of  the 
English,  who  were  burning  his  father's  house.  It  was  down 
that  road  all  the  way  to  the  Hall  of  Records,  in  Manhattan, 
that  old  Van  Tassel  himself,  his  hands  tied  to  his  horse's 
tail,  had  to  drive  his  cattle. 

Colonel  Hamilton,  who  fought  through  the  Civil  War — two 
years  in  the  Fifth  New  York  Regiment,  "Duryea's  Zouaves," 
and  three  years  in  the  light  artillery — has  followed  the  for- 
tunes of  the  church  for  more  than  half  a  century.  In  1855 
he  planted  on  the  church  property  four  spruces,  one  of 
which  still  stands  over  the  grave  of  his  grandfather,  John 
Romer,  the  son-in-law  of  Van  Tassel.  A  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury ago,  when  the  church  fell  into  bad  repair,  he  kal- 
somined  the  ceiling  with  his  own  hands.  He  gave  a  new 
stove  to  replace  the  old  box  stoves,  whose  tin  chimney,  after 
rambling  around  the  church,  supposedly  distributing  warmth 
finally  made  an  exit  through  a  hole  in  the  middle  of  the  roof, 
from  which  the  soot  dropped  like  mud  on  rainy  days.  This 
spring,  when  the  congregation  had  sunk  to  half  a  dozen 
persons,  he  helped  reorganize  the  church,  and  now,  with  his 
son,  he  is  busy  upholstering  the  interior  and  patching  up 
the  wall  paper  where  it  had  fallen  off.  It  is  he  who  sent 
out  an  appeal  for  the  saving  of  the  old  cemetery. 

When  the  Rev.  Robert  Bolton  was  writing  his  history  of 
Westchester  County,  he  used  to  make  regular  visits  to  the 
home  of  Colonel  Hamilton's  grandfather  in  Elmsford.  There 
three  patriarchs  would  assemble  to  recount  Westchester 
history,  as  they  had  seen  it.  John  Romer,  the  grandfather, 
was  ninety-one  years  old  when  he  died ;  Christina  Romer 
lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  four.    The  third  member  of  the 


104  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

trio  was  Peter  See.  Colonel  Hamilton,  then  a  boy,  used 
sometimes  to  sit  on  a  stool  at  their  feet,  listening  to  their 
tales,  and  thus  he  got  an  insight  into  that  history  which  has 
been  his  hobby  ever  since. 

At  the  time  of  his  grandfather's  death,  the  colonel  planted 
the  four  spruce  trees  in  the  old  burial  ground  to  shelter  the 
graves  of  his  ancestors.  Three  of  the  trees  died  or  had  to 
be  cut  down.  Only  one  now  stands,  with  a  venerable  weep- 
ing willow  near  by.  Beneath  are  a  score  of  graves,  some 
of  the  tombstones  erect  and  some  fallen,  and  many  worn 
till  the  dates  are  gone,  and  even  the  deeper  cut  names  are 
unrecognizable. 

In  the  center  of  the  plot  a  simple  white  obelisk  marks  the 
grave  of  Captain  Isaac  Van  Wart,  one  of  the  captors  of 
Major  Andre. 

On  the  night  be'fore  the  capture  of  Andre,  seven  militia- 
men, of  whom  Van  Wart  was  one,  spent  the  night  at  the 
house  of  Captain  Jacob  Romer,  Colonel  Hamilton's  great- 
grandfather, in  East  View.  The  next  morning  they  split 
into  two  parties,  one  of  four  and  one  of  three.  The  story 
of  how  the  three  men  found  the  British  soldier  in  civilian 
clothes ;  how,  after  receiving  contradictory  answers  to  their 
questions,  they  searched  him,  and  how  they  finally  found  in 
his  boots  the  proofs  of  his  negotiations  with  Benedict  Arnold 
for  the  betrayal  of  West  Point — all  this  is  a  matter  of 
history. 

James  Romer,  a  son  of  Jacob,  was  one  of  the  seven,  but 
unfortunately  went  with  the  four  and  not  the  three.  Be- 
fore the  seven  left  the  house  that  morning  they  borrowed  a 
pack  of  cards,  and  the  wife  of  Jacob  Romer  put  up  a  lunch 
for  them.  James  carried  it  in  a  pewter  basin.  In  the  ex- 
citement of  the  capture,  the  basin  was  left  behind,  but  John 
Romer,  a  lad  of  sixteen  years,  was  sent  back  for  it.  It  now 
stands  on  Colonel  Hamilton's  mantelpiece. 

His  grave  was  not  Van  Wart's  only  connection  with  the 
old  Greenburgh  Church.     He  was   an  elder,  and   for  a 


HOW   $150   WILL   SAVE   PATRIOTS'   GRAVES        105 

time  choirmaster.  Hymn  books  were  scarce  in  those  days, 
and  Van  Wart  was  one  of  the  only  two  church  members 
who  possessed  such  a  thing.    The  other  was  the  minister. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolution  Van  Wart  recruited  a  com- 
pany of  militia,  with  John  Romer  and  William  Hammond. 
The  three  took  the  positions,  respectively,  of  captain,  lieu- 
tenant, and  ensign.  When  Van  Wart  resigned,  the  others 
were  promoted  and  took  in  Dennis  Cronk,  an  ensign.  Wil- 
liam Hammond  later  rose  to  be  a  general.  The  graves  of  all 
four  lie  within  a  man's  length  of  each  other,  under  the  wil- 
low tree  in  the  little  Elmsford  cemetery.  Dennis  Cronk, 
incidentally,  was  a  near  relative  of  Hiram  Cronk,  the  last 
survivor  of  the  war  of  1812. 

In  1777  the  English  surrounded  the  house  of  Cornelius 
Van  Tassel — John  Romer's  father-in-law — and  dragged  the 
family  out  into  the  cold  winter  air.  His  daughter  they  tied 
and  left  on  the  frozen  ground.  They  proceeded  to  pillage  his 
house,  carrying  out  the  furniture  piece  by  piece.  Cornelius's 
son  hid  in  the  attic,  but  when  he  saw  that  they  were  about 
to  set  fire  to  the  house  he  tried  a  forlorn  hope.  Picking  up 
one  of  the  few  remaining  pieces  of  furniture,  he  deliberately 
carried  it  out  of  the  house  into  the  midst  of  the  company  of 
British.  As  he  had  hoped,  for  a  moment  they  took  him  for 
one  of  their  own  number.  Gradually  edging  away  from  the 
main  crowd,  he  finally  made  a  dash  for  liberty  across  the 
place  where  the  railroad  tracks  now  run  down  to  the  bank 
of  the  Neperan,  the  old  Sawmill  River.  The  English  gave 
chase  and  fired  at  him,  but  he  escaped. 

Meanwhile,  the  house  was  burned  to  the  ground.  Van 
Tassel  was  tied  by  his  hands  to  his  horse's  tail,  and  made 
to  walk  in  that  fashion  to  New  York,  driving  his  cattle  be- 
fore him.  He  was  taken  to  the  gaol  where  the  Hall  of 
Records  now  stands  and  imprisoned  for  eleven  months. 

Across  the  tiny  cemetery  from  the  graves  of  all  these  men, 
a  broken  white  stone  marks  that  of  Solomon  Utter,  who 
made  the  gallows  from  which  Major  Andre  was  hung.    Why 


106  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

a  citizen  of  Elms  ford  should  have  got  this  task  is  part  of  lost 
history,  as  the  date  on  his  tombstone  will  soon  be,  but  the 
fact  is  there  recorded,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  it.  At 
the  time  of  the  trial  and  execution  of  Andre  in  Tappantown, 
across  the  river,  in  October,  1780,  all  Elms  ford  ferried  over 
to  attend.  Even  the  Bible  on  which  the  oaths  were  taken 
came  from  Elmsford. 

Other  stones  there  are  with  the  names  of  Revolutionary 
soldiers  whose  history  is  written  nowhere,  probably,  but 
here.  Many  more  graves  were  marked  by  common  field 
stones,  with  not  so  much  as  an  inscription  on  them,  and  all 
these  have  now  disappeared.  Abraham  Martling — his  grave 
is  close  under  the  willow — may  be  remembered  not  only  be- 
cause he  died  on  New  Year's  Day,  1841,  but  because  in  re- 
venge for  the  burning  of  Van  Tassel's  house  he  went  to 
Bloomingdale  and  burned  that  of  the  Tory  lieutenant- 
governor. 

When  the  Rev.  Silas  Constant,  who  had  been  ordained  as 
an  evangelist  by  the  Presbytery  of  Morris  County  in  1784, 
became  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Hanover,  now 
Yorktown,  Westchester  County,  he  by  no  means  spent  all  his 
time  within  the  church  walls.  His  diary,  kept  carefully  for 
twenty  years,  shows  that  he  travelled  far  and  wide,  preach- 
ing in  the  country  homes.  At  the  house  of  Archer  Reed, 
in  East  View,  he  preached  for  the  first  time — text,  Jeremiah 
1 :  5 — on  February  8,  1787,  and  he  held  services  frequently 
there  in  the  next  two  years. 

For  almost  a  century  the  little  Greenburgh  Church  flour- 
ished. In  1825  a  branch  was  established  at  Dobbs  Ferry, 
where  it  is  now  the  First  Presbyterian  Church.  In  1829  it 
assisted  in  erecting  the  White  Plains  Presbyterian  Church, 
that  had  been  burned  in  1776.  In  1852  the  congregation 
decided  to  unite  with  the  Reformed  Church,  and  it  has  since 
remained  with  that  denomination.  It  established  a  mission 
at  Hastings,  now  known  as  the  First  Reformed  Church. 


HOW   $150   WILL   SAVE   PATRIOTS'    GRAVES        107 

Colonel  Hamilton  remembers  the  day  when,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  church  still  had  only  two  hymnals,  there  were 
150  or  200  men  and  women  every  Sunday  in  the  congrega- 
tion, and  a  hundred  children  in  the  Sabbath  school — many 
of  them  coming  from  three,  four  and  five  miles  away.  At 
this  time  Samuel  Howland  was  the  owner  of  the  second 
hymn  book,  and  he  was  the  first  to  afford  the  luxury  of 
cushions  in  his  pew.  But  about  twenty-five  years  ago  things 
began  to  go  downhill.  The  old  people  had  died,  and  the 
younger  ones  had  sold  their  land  and  moved  away.  Gradu- 
ally the  congregation  dwindled,  and  its  funds  dwindled,  until 
there  was  little  left  to  the  old  Greenburgh  Church  but  a  half 
dozen  living  and  a  few  score  dead. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  at  the  beginning  of  1911. 
But  for  some  years  the  village  of  Elmsford  had  been  grow- 
ing again.  What  there  was  left  of  the  church  found  itself 
in  the  center  of  a  large  and  increasing  population.  The 
church  was  reorganized ;  a  successful  appeal  for  funds  was 
made  to  the  Domestic  Board  of  Missions;  and  the  sum 
obtained — swelled  by  local  subscription  of  $400 — was 
enough  to  pay  the  salary  of  a  pastor. 

Then,  just  when  every  effort  had  been  expended  to  give 
the  church  a  fresh  start,  and  when  prospects  of  success 
seemed  brightest,  Colonel  Hamilton  found  that  a  drainage 
tax  of  about  $150  had  been  levied  against  the  church  prop- 
erty. This  was  the  last  straw.  Where  should  they  raise  an- 
other $150,  after  all  the  good  citizens  had  gone  deep  into 
their  pockets  and  barely  obtained  enough  to  repair  the  church 
and  pay  the  pastor's  salary  ?  Colonel  Hamilton  thought  that 
one  way,  perhaps,  was  to  send  out  an  appeal  to  all  the 
patriotic  citizens  and  societies  in  Westchester,  and  this  he 
did  on  September  1. 

The  story  of  the  origin  of  that  tax  is  a  long  one,  but  here 
is  the  sum  of  it:  The  valley  had  long  been  called  malarial, 
and  at  least  two  property  owners  put  in  applications  for 
draining  it,  in  order  to  make  it  more  healthy.    The  petition 


108  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

was  finally  accepted,  and  eventually  the  work  was  done — at 
a  cost  of  about  $150,000.  From  most  taxes  church  property 
is  exempt,  but,  as  this  was  levied  on  the  ground  of  health, 
all  property  became  affected.  Thus  the  graveyard  was  taxed 
for  an  improvement  of  its  health  conditions.  The  church 
property  was  assessed  $150,  and  by  the  payment  or  non- 
payment of  that  the  old  Greenburgh  Church  must  stand  or 
fall.  If  the  tax  remains  unpaid,  the  property  must  be  ad- 
vertised and  sold.  Who  can  tell  who  would  buy  it?  Per- 
haps some  rival  of  the  owner  of  the  garage  across  the  way, 
who  might  use  the  tombstones  for  paving  blocks  and  the 
graves  for  a  pit,  and  sell  gasoline  at  nineteen  cents  a  gallon. 

But  even  Colonel  Hamilton  thinks  this  a  piece  of  fancy. 

"Who  would  be  so  heartless  as  to  destroy  the  graveyard, 
even  if  they  did  buy  the  property  ?"  says  he,  and  he  may  be 

right. 

It  would  be  a  shame  on  the  church  and  on  the  community 
and  on  all  patriotic  citizens  if  the  Revolutionary  graveyard 
had  to  be  sold.  So  far  the  Colonel  has  collected  exactly 
$5,50 — five  dollars  from  a  friend  and  fifty  cents  from  an 
automobile  tourist  who  stopped  to  explore  the  graves,  and 
to  him  the  old  veteran  told  the  story  of  the  church's  need.— 
— Evening  Post,  New  York,  September  16,  1911. 


Colonel  Hamilton  writes  under  date  of  December  9,  1915 : 

"I  raised  the  $150.00  and  paid  all  claims  against  the 
church  property  and  cleared  it  from  all  incumbrance.  The 
donor  of  the  $150.00,  Mr.  James  B.  Hammond  of  type- 
writer fame,  and  a  descendant  of  Colonel  James  Hammond 
of  the  First  Regiment  of  Westchester  County  Troops  during 
the  Revolution,  also  gave  funds  to  purchase  three  extra  lots, 
and  his  estate  paid  the  cost  of  building  a  stone  wall  around 
the  property." 


COLONEL  (REV.)  EDGAR  A.  HAMILTON 


COLONEL   (REV.)   EDGAR  A.  HAMILTON. 


Personal  Reminiscences 


My  Dear  Cousin  : 

These  war  recollections,  hastily  gathered  up  out  of  mem- 
ory, I  fear  may  not  be  germane  to  the  subject  matter  of 
your  contemplated  pamphlet. 

The  only  point  of  contact,  perhaps,  is  the  dear  old  Revolu- 
tionary nest  in  Greenburgh  which  brooded  us  in  childhood's 
days.  Anything  which  can  be  said  to  endear  to  others  the 
honorable  name  and  amiable  character  of  our  venerable 
grandfather  meets  with  my  enthusiastic  sympathy.  His 
patriotism,  upright  life,  and  sterling  worth,  widely  appreci- 
ated by  his  contemporaries,  should  be  gratefully  treasured 
through  later  years.  No  one  event  has  ever  made  a  more 
lasting  impression  upon  me  than  when,  kneeling  with  my 
brother  at  his  bedside,  he  put  his  trembling  hands  upon  our 
heads  and  with  dying  breath,  at  91  years  of  age,  said :  "God 
bless  you;  grow  up,  my  children,  to  be  good  men." 

The  early  experiences  of  my  life  were  exciting  ones  as 
I  recall  them  now.  Born  in  a  large  double  log  cabin  upon 
the  stretches  of  Wisconsin — the  principal  center  of  lead 
mining  operations  owned  by  William  S.  Hamilton,  a  younger 
son  of  Alexander  Hamilton  (my  great-uncle),  whose  gener- 
ous hospitality  gathered  such  men  as  General  Dodge,  Elihu 
B.  Washburn,  and  Senator  Charles  Stephenson  under  his 

109 


110  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

roof,  while  the  Black  feet  Indians  held  high  carnival  about 
his  doors  and  were  frequently  driven  away  with  the  whip  in 
his  hand.  He  was  small  in  stature,  but  the  Indians  stood  in 
wholesome  awe  of  his  authority.  Prairie  wolves  upon  winter 
nights  would  visit  and  howl  in  the  windows  and  were  only 
driven  away  by  tossing  firebrands. 

My  beloved  mother,  fearing  such  environments  might  not 
be  conducive  to  the  welfare  of  her  young  children,  gathered 
us  up  in  her  arms  and  entered  upon  that  long  journey  by 
stage  to  Chicago,  boat  to  Buffalo,  canal  to  Albany,  and  stage 
coach  which  dropped  her  at  the  head  of  Washington  Irving 
Lane.  Soon  an  old  tenant — Isaac  Concklin,  whom  you  re- 
member, living  in  a  hollow  of  the  woodland  heights  beyond 
the  pitching  place — found  us  and  carried  the  children  over 
the  heights  and  down  the  hillsides  to  the  dear  old  home  of 
welcome,  were  those  early  days  in  which  you  shared,  were 
sunny  with  innocent  play  outside,  and  within  bright  with  the 
smiles  of  protecting  love  and  care. 

The  first  break  on  that  smooth  road  was  the  departure 
for  school  life  at  Antioch  College,  in  southern  Ohio,  Sep- 
tember, 1860. 

The  air  was  growing  tense  with  apprehension.  That 
winter  of  national  discontent  intruded  other  thoughts  than 
study,  and  classes  were  often  interspersed  with  drills  and 
marches  and  athletic  exercises,  anticipating  the  future  needs. 
The  flag  was  often  in  evidence.  When  Sumter's  guns  broke 
the  silence,  upon  that  momentous  April  day,  the  telegram 
calling  for  75,000  volunteers  was  answered  before  night  by 
sixteen  of  us,  enlisting  in  defense  of  the  country,  and  so  we 
marched  away  to  Washington. 

I  prize  that  early  act  of  enlistment  as  one  of  the  praise- 
worthy deeds  of  my  youth. 

The  first  war  experiences  were  illuminating  but  not  very 
happy.  Raw,  untrained,  and  not  toughened,  life  became 
very  strenuous  and  its  demands  beyond  physical  endurance. 
When  the   regiment   marched    from   Georgetown   through 


COLONEL     (REV.)     EDGAR    A.    HAMILTON  111 

Washington  across  Long  Bridge  to  Alexandria  and  miles 
beyond  it  to  camp  upon  the  left  wing  of  General  Mc- 
Dowell's Army,  destined  for  Bull  Run,  it  was  exhausting, 
trudging  in  heavy  marching  order  for  fifteen  miles,  to  be 
immediately  put  on  sentry  duty  and  left  unrelieved  for  six- 
teen hours.  It  produced  extreme  weariness  followed  by 
malarial  fever  and  back  into  the  hospital  instead  of  on  to 
Bull  Run,  where  I  was  discharged  from  the  service. 

At  home  I  began  recruiting  in  New  York  City.  Then  a 
commission  from  Governor  Morgan  landed  me  at  Fortress 
Monroe,  Virginia,  in  a  cavalry  squadron.  Studious  appli- 
cation, sympathetic  care  and  wise  discipline,  resulted  in  ad- 
vancement, and  when  the  spring  campaign  opened  under 
General  McClellan,  I  held  command  of  a  troop  of  cavalry. 
This  troop  led  the  right  wing  of  the  army  to  Yorktown, 
where  the  first  Confederate  guns  of  that  campaign  broke 
the  silence,  hurtling  past  the  log  upon  which  old  General 
Heintzelman  and  I  sat  discussing  whether  a  charge  I  volun- 
teered to  make  might  not  capture  the  piece.  The  General 
waited  General  McClellan's  arrival,  and  the  advance  of  the 
Southern  troops  lost  the  opportunity  and  led  to  a  delay  of 
three  weeks  at  Yorktown. 

Prior  to  the  Pennsylvania  campaign,  upon  March  7th 
and  8th,  the  Battle  of  the  Merrimac  and  Monitor  took  place 
— the  initiation  of  battle  experiences  for  me. 

While  in  camp,  the  distant  salvos  of  artillery  broke  the 
afternoon  silence ;  "boots  and  saddles,"  rang  out,  and  mount- 
ed men  at  the  heels  of  General  Max  Weber  galloped  away 
to  the  scene  of  strife  at  Newport  News.  The  wooded  road 
hid  all  sight,  but  the  constant  cannonading  indicated  what 
was  before  us.  As  the  plain  opened  near  Newport  News, 
the  Merrimac  challenged  our  advance  with  a  high  shell,  un- 
horsing a  few  officers  and  uprooting  a  great  tree  in  our  ad- 
vance. With  tightened  rein,  the  horses  were  sped  on  and 
drew  up  in  the  rear  of  the  only  buildings  upon  the  bluffs. 
There,  standing  to  horse,  with  shattered  bricks  falling  upon 


112  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

us,  and  the  noise  of  cannonry  filling  our  ears,  we  looked  upon 
the  first  day's  battle  and  its  carnage.  At  our  right,  with  its 
flag  at  mast,  the  sloop  of  war  Cumberland  went  down  with 
her  killed  and  wounded,  the  water  full  of  men  and  their 
rescuers.  Upon  our  front  steamed  back  and  forth  the  Merri- 
mac — firing  at  every  turn,  and  somewhat  beyond  her  three 
other  Confederate  vessels.  At  our  left  the  frigate  Congress, 
aground,  decks  strewed  with  her  dead  and  wounded,  still 
firing. 

Impatient  at  our  inaction,  I  gained  permission  to  take 
twenty  men  to  the  river's  edge,  and  lying  down,  we  shot 
at  the  open  portholes  of  the  Merrimac  and  fired  upon  ap- 
proaching boats  attempting  to  capture  the  men  of  the  Con- 
gress. Farther  at  the  left,  in  shallow  water  and  aground, 
lay  the  Minnesota,  replying  with  her  broadsides  to  the 
Merrimac ;  and  farther  away  two  other  United  States  ves- 
sels, keeping  beyond  the  range  of  the  Merrimac's  shells. 

Thus  night  drew  on,  and  the  Confederate  monster  with- 
drew to  her  moorings  in  Elizabeth  River. 

At  night  I  was  sent  with  a  small  detachment  to  picket 
the  road  toward  Yorktown.  Wild  rumors  of  large  numbers 
of  Confederate  troops  approaching  were  about.  The  parallel 
road  along  the  James  River  did  have  a  force  under  General 
Magruder  within  striking  distance,  awaiting  the  work  of  the 
Merrimac.  Fear  prevailed  over  duty,  and  without  orders,  I 
brought  my  detachment  in,  arriving  at  midnight  in  time  to 
witness  the  explosion  of  the  Congress. 

The  prevailing  feeling  that  night  was  one  of  gloom.  We 
looked  for  the  next  day's  work  to  end  in  defeat — our  army 
outnumbered,  our  navy  hors  de  combat,  the  fortress  with 
no  guns  equal  to  the  Merrimac ;  but  unknown  to  us  the  Moni- 
tor steamed  in  and  hid  herself  behind  the  Minnesota,  hardly 
distinguishable  above  the  waters.  Our  little  command  of 
mounted  men,  encamped  near  by,  were  held  in  readiness  for 
any  emergency.  The  officers  climbed  to  the  roof  of  the  Chesa- 
peake Female  Seminary,  and  witnessed  the  great  spectacle 


COLONEL     (REV.)     EDGAR    A.    HAMILTON  113 

of  the  day.  For  three  hours  the  struggle  went  on.  Thrilling 
sensations  of  hope  and  fear  hung  on  every  move  and  shot. 
The  battering,  the  ramming,  maneuvering,  unintermittent 
on  each  side,  held  our  attention,  only  a  mile  away.  When 
the  Merrimac  retired,  the  suspense  gave  way,  and  the  un- 
bounded joy  of  relief  made  us  wild  with  excitement.  The 
fortress  was  safe;  we  had  escaped  prison;  the  battle  was 
won.  That  day's  work  changed  the  character  of  naval  war- 
fare forever. 

The  next  episode  reveals  the  varied  features  of  war.  It 
was  no  less  than  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Norfolk — a 
glorious  ending  to  a  very  inglorious  beginning. 

My  orders  placed  me  upon  a  huge  canal  boat  instead  of 
a  war  vessel.  A  tug  towed  it  across  the  bay  toward  Ocean 
View.  It  was  heavily  laden  and  went  aground  one-half 
mile  from  shore.  Infantry  firing  was  going  on  at  Sewall's 
Point  and  along  the  Elizabeth  River.  A  crane  was  rigged. 
Men  took  equipments  and  ammunition  in  small  boats  to 
shore.  The  horses  were  swung  overboard,  guided  to  the 
shore,  caught  and  saddled,  and  a  wild  race  followed  for 
ten  miles,  bringing  us  to  the  earthworks  and  abandoned  guns. 
We  leaped  the  works,  and  followed  our  more  fortunate 
squadron  into  the  city,  where  its  keys  were  placed  in  the 
hands  of  our  Commander,  signifying  its  surrender.  It  was 
a  bloodless  victory,  but  accompanied  with  great  results  for 
the  Union — giving  the  Navy  Yard  a  port  and  a  hold  upon 
the  south  side  of  the  James  River. 

Three  days  after  this  we  were  again  in  the  saddle  charg- 
ing into  Suffolk,  eighteen  miles  south,  upon  the  heels  of  the 
Southern  army,  hastening  to  reinforce  the  troops  defending 
Richmond.  This  daring  ride  was  heralded  far  and  wide  in 
the  North.  Soon  an  order  from  Washington  was  received 
to  dash  across  the  State  of  North  Carolina  and  open  up  con- 
nections with  General  Burnside  upon  Albemarle  Sound. 
This  experience — for  endurance  and  exposure  and  for  con- 
tinuance— was  not  again  matched  by  us  during  the  whole 


114  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

war.     A  strange  country,  lonely  roads,  unbridged  rivers, 
numerous  marshes,  no  reserves,  Southern  militia,  guerillas, 
small  bodies  of  the  enemy  creeping  upon  every  picket  post, 
gathering  at  every  vantage  place,  sudden  attacks  in  front  and 
rear,  flanks  exposed,  300  men  arousing  the  whole  country- 
side with  antagonism,  without  any  knowledge  of  the  num- 
bers attacking  us.     After  five  days  of  incessant  vigilance, 
overcoming  obstacles,  with  only  two  and  a  half  hours'  sleep, 
with  comparatively  no  loss  of  life  or  material,  the  country 
making  good  the  horses  lost,  the  command,  then  a  battalion, 
was  transferred  to  Suffolk  for  outpost  duty.    At  this  time 
orders  were  received  to  recruit  the  battalion  up  to  a  regi- 
ment, and  the  superior  officers  were  ordered  North  upon 
recruiting  service.    Contrary  to  my  inclination,  I  was  held 
at  the  front,  in  command  of  three  companies,  to  watch  the 
south  shore  of  the  James  River,  up  to  Smithfield  to  watch 
Nansemond  and  Isle  of  Wight  Counties  up  to  Surrey,  and 
to  patrol  the  lines  of  the  Blackwater  River  where  a  force  of 
Confederates  was  stationed.     Those  were  weeks  of  trying 
service,  mostly  in  saddle,  engaged  in  scouting,  marching, 
picket  duty,  skirmishing,  watching  any  possible  advance  of 
the  enemy,  and  interrupting  any  illicit  traffic  between  the 
lines,  through  spies,  or  others.    This,  at  the  time  unwelcome 
experience,  was  an  efficient  drill  fitting  for  the  after  years. 
Noteworthy   among   these   numerous   forays  were  the 
Battle  of  the  Deserted  House,  under  General  Corcoran ;  the 
Battle  of  Ely's  Cross  Roads,  under  Major  (now  General) 
Wheelan ;  the  siege  of  Suffolk,  where,  with  a  hundred  men, 
the  left  flank  of  General  Longstreet's  army  and  the  investi- 
ture of  the  town  was  delayed  for  twenty-four  hours.    For 
twenty  miles  we  slowly  contested  the  advance.    The  bridge 
across  the  Nansemond  River  was  blown  up,  leaving  us  out- 
side.  We  escaped  by  swimming  the  river  under  fire  of  our 
guns,  and  thus  reached  safety.  Following  this  siege,  at  Cox's 
Mills,  accompanying  a  force  of  seventy-five  men,  after  a  full 
day  of  skirmishing,  with  ammunition  expended,  we  were 


COLONEL     (REV.)     EDGAR    A.    HAMILTON  115 

ambuscaded  by  a  superior  force.  Caught  on  a  corduroy 
road,  flanked  by  swamps,  we  fell  back  with  a  loss  of  sixty 
out  of  seventy-five  men.  The  officer  with  a  sabre  stroke 
cutting  his  mouth,  and  his  breast  cut,  and  myself  with  the 
cape  of  my  coat  slit  by  a  sword,  succeeded  in  rallying 
fifteen  men,  and  with  only  naked  blades,  recharged  a  mile 
and  held  the  field.  It  was  a  hand-to-hand  engagement, 
striking  with  butts  of  pistols  and  carbines,  pulling  from 
horses,  wrestling,  while  horses  ran  wild  over  the  men.  The 
memory  of  this  action  still  tingles  in  my  blood. 

The  year's  work  upon  this  front  was  exchanged  in  July, 
1863,  to  the  Peninsula,  with  headquarters  at  Williamsburg. 
As  before  and  afterwards,  our  position  was  the  nearest  to 
Richmond  of  any  Union  troops.  The  Confederates  intrusted 
the  Peninsula  between  Richmond  and  Williamsburg  to  the 
care  of  two  bands  of  guerilla  or  irregular  troops — trained 
marksmen  and  woodsmen  from  Mississippi,  Alabama  and 
Virginia,  under  leaders  acquainted  with  every  nook  and 
corner  of  the  land.  The  work  was  not  coveted — it  was  try- 
ing, it  taxed  ingenuity,  there  was  need  of  strategy.  Death 
came  not  from  the  open  but  most  frequently  from  bushes 
and  hidden  coverts,  picking  men  off  by  twos  and  threes. 
There  was  little  opportunity  for  military  glory,  but  much 
thought  to  meet  inconspicuous  fighting,  brush  skirmish, 
picket  shooting  and  secret  scouting.  The  advantages  were 
all  with  the  enemy.  Their  emissaries  carried  information 
and  assumed  all  sorts  of  disguises  to  learn  our  plans. 

The  capture  of  the  Hampton  Legion  at  Charles  City 
Court  House,  nine  miles  from  Richmond,  and  a  bushwhack- 
ing trip  may  set  forth  the  ordinary  experiences  of  our  war- 
fare upon  the  Peninsula. 

A  well-planned  and  skillful  capture  of  Richmond,  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  his  cabinet,  and  liberation  of  Libby  prisoners,  was 
undertaken,  and  thwarted  by  an  unforeseen  circumstance. 
At  that  period  Richmond  was  divested  of  troops.  General 
Butler  was  well  aware  of  conditions.     Quietly,  an  infantry 


116  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

force  was  increased  at  Williamsburg  and  an  additional  cav- 
alry regiment  was  brought  there.  Every  field  officer  was 
given  a  map  and  specific  instructions  as  to  his  work.  Two 
nights  before  the  march,  a  prisoner  escaped  from  our  guard 
house — he  was  a  murderer  of  one  of  my  lieutenants,  a  par- 
ticular friend.  The  guard  over  the  prisoner  filed  his  fetters, 
gave  him  the  countersign,  communicated  the  effort  to  be 
made.  The  man  went  to  Richmond  and  told  his  story. 
General  Pickett  was  ordered  up  from  Petersburg  with  his 
brigade  and  a  battery.  Reaching  Bolton's  Bridge,  upon 
Chickahominy  River,  we  were  turned  back  with  a  loss  of  six 
men,  facing  guns  and  infantry,  which  disclosed  the  fact  that 
our  plans  were  known  and  checkmated  at  Richmond. 

In  the  early  winter  of  1864,  a  very  successful  reconnais- 
sance was  made  up  the  Peninsula.  The  storm  and  blackness 
of  the  night  kept  our  march  from  the  enemy's  notice.  Reach- 
ing the  Chickahominy  River  at  daylight,  the  pickets  were 
surprised.  A  quick  gallop  of  six  miles  brought  us  to  Charles 
City  Court  House,  where  a  part  of  the  Hampton  Legion 
was  encamped.  Nine  miles  from  Richmond,  mistaking  a 
tented  field  for  the  enemy's  quarters,  the  regiment  charged 
it,  when  a  guide  riding  back  informed  me  that  the  main  body 
occupied  the  Court  House  at  the  right.  With  a  rear-guard 
of  forty  men,  we  swung  sabers,  advanced  carbines,  mounted 
the  hill,  receiving  a  volley  which  emptied  four  saddles.  The 
dash  drove  the  enemy  within,  when  we  dismounted,  broke 
in  the  rear  door,  cleared  hallway  and  room  after  room,  and 
forced  the  surrender  of  one  hundred  men,  capturing  all 
equipments.  It  was  a  clever  fight  with  many  narrow  escapes. 
It  gave  the  men  the  confidence  of  a  dash  and  courage  which 
animated  them  in  after  fields. 

An  extract  from  an  affidavit  made  by  Brevet  Major 
Cronin  of  General  Kautz's  staff  may  convey  a  report  which 
from  my  own  pen  would  sound  fulsome.  In  speaking  of 
one  of  the  scouts  after  guerillas,  Major  Cronin  says: 

"In  planning  this  expedition  against  the  enemy,  Major 


COLONEL     (REV.)     EDGAR    A.    HAMILTON  117 

Hamilton  made  several  new  departures  from  ordinary  meth- 
ods of  pursuing  them.    Moving  swiftly  at  night  in  inclement 
weather  to  a  base  of  operations  several  miles  above  our 
lines,  and  there  dismounting  a  part  of  his  command  as 
flankers,  secreting  others,  he  penetrated  cautiously  to  the 
scout  stations  at  various  haunts   in  the  wilderness.     He 
broke  up  the  enemy's  retreats  at  Olive  Branch  Church,  Barn- 
ham  Cross  Roads,  Baltimore  Cross  Roads,  charged  on  to 
new  Kent  Court  House,  there  captured  five  wagon  loads  of 
ammunition  and  quartermaster  stores,  and  charged  the  force 
down  to  Bolton's  Bridge.    Falling  back  to  ten  miles  ordinary, 
he  took  fifty  men  and  secreted  them  in  the  woods,  sending 
the  rest  of  his  force  into  camp,  and  watched  the  regathering 
of  the  guerillas.    In  the  early  morning  their  stealthy  tread 
was  heard  in  the  rear,  and  soon  upon  the  open  road  they  re- 
appeared, moving  carelessly  and  irregularly,  as  if  satisfied 
that  the  expedition  had  reached  its  camp.  With  orders  to  fire 
low  and  mark  their  men,  Major  Hamilton  ordered  his  men  to 
fire.    Not  a  shot  told,  but  with  instant  dash  he  led  his  men 
on  a  charge,  put  to  flight  the  enemy,  who  threw  away  their 
arms,  and  hunted  them  until  nightfall,  when,  exhausted  and 
with  blistered  feet,  the  command  returned  to  camp,  making 
sixty  miles  in  nineteen  hours.     The  next  night  the  Major 
with  a  new  force  took  the  York  River  Road  after  the  noted 
leader  Hume,  famous  upon  the  Peninsula,  quickly  routing 
small  parties,  picking  up  a  few  prisoners,  reaching  the  sup- 
posed retreat,  to  find  it  vacated.     These  two  scouts  are 
typical  of  the  work  performed  by  the  Mounted  Rifles  upon 
the  Peninsula,  and  broke  up  the  activity  of  irregular  warfare 
for  months." 

From  Williamsburg  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  join 
General  Butler's  army  at  Bermuda  Hundred  and  partici- 
pated in  many  engagements,  becoming  a  part  of  the  large 
infantry  command  and  working  in  connection  with  it  on  the 
flanks,  in  front  and  rear. 

At  the  battle  of  Fort  Darling  it  did  conspicuous  work, 


118  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

both  in  advance  and  on  the  retreat,  checking  a  cavalry 
charge,  protecting  wounded,  and  permitting  rear-guard  en- 
gagements without  broken  ranks  in  retreat.  In  early  sum- 
mer the  regiment  was  part  of  the  cavalry  force  which  held 
Petersburg  for  four  hours,  and  only  the  tardiness  of  the 
infantry  advance  permitted  General  Lee's  forces  crossing 
the  Appomattox,  thus  leading  to  the  siege  of  Petersburg 
by  General  Grant. 

When  General  Grant's  army  crossed  to  the  south  side 
of  the  James  from  the  Wilderness  campaign,  the  regiment 
led  its  Second,  Third  and  Fifth  Corps  to  the  positions  which 
they  held  so  long  facing  the  foe. 

In  the  autumn  another  transfer  placed  the  regiment 
upon  the  right  flank  of  the  army  investing  Richmond.  Here 
it  participated  in  several  battles  and  was  honorably  men- 
tioned for  its  service  upon  October  7,  1864,  in  the  Battle  of 
Darby  town.  After  the  defeat  of  our  cavalry  division  I 
carried  a  force  of  250  men  from  the  picket  line  to  rifle  pits 
and  held  the  rifle  pits  against  large  forces  until  our  infantry 
had  manned  their  earthworks;  then,  retiring,  was  engaged 
the  whole  day,  until  the  enemy  retired  at  evening  to  their 
own  defenses. 

For  seventeen  days  before  the  surrender  at  Appomattox 
Court  House,  the  regiment  was  in  the  saddle,  sent  to  the 
White  House  on  York  River,  then  hastily  ordered  to  Fred- 
ericksburg on  the  Rappahannock ;  returning  to  Fortress 
Monroe,  it  was  rushed  to  the  northern  neck  of  Virginia  and 
met  Mosby's  command.  Returning,  it  was  refitted  and  for- 
warded to  North  Carolina  to  burn  the  bridge  across  the 
Roanoke  River  so  that  General  Johnston's  army  could  not 
unite  with  General  Lee's  army.  Here  news  of  the  surrender 
readied  us,  and  our  fighting  days  closed  with  the  capture 
of  a  Confederate  major  and  six  men. 

This  is  a  brief  outline  of  some  few  experiences  with  a 
regiment  which  registers  104  engagements,  big  and  little, 
through  four  years  and  three  months  of  service.     I  came 


COLONEL     (REV.)     EDGAR    A.    HAMILTON  119 

out  of  the  service  in  December,  1863,  shattered  in  health, 
serving  as  Provost  Marshal  for  the  District  of  the  Northern 
Neck,  Virginia,  comprising  five  counties,  where  it  was 
my  privilege  and  pleasure  to  meet  some  of  Virginia's  re- 
fined and  distinguished  people,  receiving  from  them  kind- 
ness and  regard,  rejoicing  in  taking  their  oaths  of  allegiance 
to  the  country. 

With  affection,  yours, 

Edgar  A.  Hamilton. 

P.  S. — The  memoranda  you  ask  for  to  supplement  the 
military  record,  of  course,  are  the  quiet  annals  of  a  country 
pastorate. 

Upon  leaving  the  army,  ill-health  drove  me  from  a  com- 
mission in  the  regular  army  offered  me  by  the  Honor- 
able William  H.  Seward.  Also  it  prevented  me  from  a 
contemplated  profession  of  the  law.  For  eight  years  I  was 
upon  the  invalid  list,  hampering  my  studies  at  Oberlin,  Ohio, 
and  at  the  Theological  Seminary,  New  York  City.  How- 
ever, I  spent  two  years  with  a  Mission  (now  Covenant 
Church),  New  York  City,  and,  through  a  physician's  advice, 
was  led  to  the  mountain  region  to  eliminate  malaria  absorbed 
from  a  year's  camping  along  the  Dismal  Swamp  of  Virginia. 

In  1873,  an  opening  came  to  me  among  the  foothills  of 
the  Blue  Mountains  in  Sussex  County,  New  Jersey.  Little 
thought  I  had  that  it  would  be  a  life-long  work.  The  service 
appealed  to  me  from  the  very  first.  It  was  not  beyond  my 
physical  strength,  and  yet  varied  enough  in  its  features  to 
deeply  interest  me.  For  ten  years  I  was  drawn  into  close 
association  with  the  more  influential  people  of  two  counties, 
engaging  in  Sabbath  School,  Temperance  and  Bible  Society 
work  in  connection  with  my  church.  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
companionship  with  my  old  commander,  Major-General 
Kilpatrick,  and  gathering  in  my  church  the  principal  busi- 
ness and  professional  men  of  the  community,  whose  help 
and  sympathy  have  been  very  valuable  to  me. 


120  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

Thinking  that  my  family  would  be  improved  in  health, 
I  emigrated  to  Missouri  in  1883,  and  lived  ten  years  at 
Springfield,  where  I  organized  and  built  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian Church.  It  was  a  boom  period  of  growth,  and  the 
little  church  grew  perhaps  to  its  greatest  strength  while  I 
served  it. 

Providence,  after  the  death  of  three  of  my  family,  turned 
my  feet  eastward  again,  and  just  as  the  hunger  for  New 
York  pressed  me,  a  very  urgent  invitation  from  my  old 
church  in  Sussex  County  came  to  me.  Its  acceptance 
brought  me  back  among  these  lovely  hills  and  in  the  midst 
of  familiar  faces  and  duties,  and  here  for  twenty-three  years 
more  I  have  quietly  lived,  ministering  in  quiet  ways  to  a 
people  through  four  or  five  generations.  Today  I  have  two 
only  of  my  church  communion  who  greeted  me  in  1873. 
Several  young  and  cheery  souls  of  the  fifth  generation  smile 
as  the  gray-headed  pastor  speaks  to  them. 

There  are  compensations  in  a  long  pastorate  such  as  mine. 
I  have  not  been  hustled  into  changes,  nor  fevered  by  am- 
bitious methods,  but  have  given  my  best  to  develop  the 
best  in  others. 

The  vicinage  of  the  city  or  cities  has  taken  the  youth — 
young  men  and  maidens — from  under  my  ministry,  and  the 
aged  have  been  gathered  to  their  fathers  in  quiet  burial 
places.  Perhaps  we  have  not  kept  pace  with  the  new  order. 
The  modern  life  does  not  lessen  the  conviction  for  more  of 
the  old  means  of  prayer,  scriptural  fidelity  and  a  deep  Chris- 
tian experience  apart  from  worldly  conformity.  During 
these  years  changes  have  emphasized  for  me  a  gospel  min- 
istry, and,  while  no  great  increase  in  numbers  has  character- 
ized my  audiences,  I  note,  in  contrast  to  the  dozen  or  more 
changes  in  other  pastorates  with  the  spasms  of  popularity 
and  new  voices  and  methods,  that  upon  the  whole  there  is 
no  loss  to  follow  the  even  tenor  of  one's  way,  if  it  is  un- 
selfish. 
During  these  years  I  have  served  the  Blair  Academy  as 


COLONEL    (REV.)    EDGAR    A.    HAMILTON  121 

one  of  its  directors;  the  Merriman  Home  for  aged  minis- 
ters and  their  wives ;  the  Sussex  County  Bible  Society  as  its 
president;  and  now  for  fifteen  years  have  kept  interested  a 
literary  society  organized  in  my  home,  composed  of  forty 
young  people. 

Still,  at  seventy-five  years,  I  walk  upright,  but  feel,  to 
use  the  military  speech,  the  time  will  soon  be  here  when  I 
must  "stack  arms"  and  wait  the  summons. 

The  mirage  of  youthful  military  ambitions  has  been 
turned  into  the  pool  of  sweet,  refreshing  waters  of  the 
Spirit,  and  when  the  gates  swing  back  I  look  forward  to  the 
entrance  where  the  crown  of  life  shall  be  worn,  only 
through  the  Father's  grace,  praying  for  my  loved  country 
and  for  the  nations  that  they  may  strive  no  more  but  shall 
enjoy  the  victories  of  peace. 

Your  affectionate  cousin, 

Edgar  A.  Hamilton. 


COLONEL  JOHN  C.  L.  HAMILTON. 


Personal  Reminiscences. 


John  Cornelius  Leon  Hamilton,  the  youngest  son  of  John 
C.  A.  Hamilton  and  Angeline,  nee  Romer,  was  born  in 
Galena,  Illinois,  November  29th,  1842,  and  is  a  direct  de- 
scendant of  General  Alexander  Hamilton,  and  Elizabeth, 
nee  Schuyler,  on  his  paternal  side.  Captain  John  Romer, 
his  grandfather,  and  Lieutenant  Cornelius  Van  Tassel,  both 
of  the  Revolution,  were  his  maternal  ancestors.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  the  Town  of  Greenburg, 
Westchester  County,  New  York. 

After  completing  a  three-year  course  of  study  at  the 
noted  Paulding  Institute  at  Tarrytown,  he  was  sent  to 
Rutgers  College,  New  Jersey,  and  while  engaged  in  his 
studies  there  the  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  volunteers 
to  uphold  the  flag  was  made  by  the  President,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  under  which  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  C, 
Fifth  New  York  Volunteers  (Duryea's  Zouaves),  and  par- 
ticipated with  that  heroic  regiment  in  the  first  real  battle 
of  the  Rebellion,  at  Big  Bethel,  Virginia.  On  the  arrival 
of  a  portion  of  the  regiment  at  Baltimore  from  a  protracted 
march  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  down  the  eastern 
shore  of  Maryland,  in  December,  1861,  he  was  detailed  as 
private  secretary  to  the  brigade  commander,  and  while 
acting  as  such  revised  and  corrected  for  publication  a  volu- 
minous manuscript  upon  the  "Art  of  War,"  and  at  the 
same  time  continued  the  study  of  military  engineering,  under 
the  supervision  of  Colonel  Gouverneur  K.  Warren.    Upon 

122 


COLONEL  JOHN  C.  L.  HAMILTON 


COLONEL  JOHN  C.   L.   HAMILTON  123 

the  organization  of  the  Third  New  York  Artillery,  early 
in  1862,  he  was  commissioned  a  second  lieutenant  and  joined 
Company  G  of  that  regiment,  stationed  at  Fort  Woodbury, 
near  Bull  Run,  Virginia,  and  was  immediately  detailed  to 
drill  and  instruct  the  officers  in  infantry  and  artil- 
lery practice  at  Fort  Cochran,  that  state.  The  regiment 
having  been  ordered  to  reinforce  General  Burnside's  expe- 
dition in  North  Carolina,  Lieutenant  Hamilton  immediately 
after  its  arrival  at  New  Berne,  was  detached  by  orders  of 
Generals  John  G.  Foster  and  Burnside  from  his  regiment 
and  assigned  to  the  engineer  corps.  His  services  in  this 
particular  line  of  duty  were  of  the  most  arduous  kind. 
Several  thousand  of  unskilled  contrabands  were  employed 
who  required  constant  supervision.  The  construction  of 
forts,  redoubts,  and  breastworks,  and  strengthening  of 
strategic  points,  permitted  of  no  rest  or  relief  from  the 
extreme  heat  and  enervating  climate. 

Fort  Macon,  distant  forty-two  miles  from  New  Berne, 
having  been  captured,  Lieutenant  Hamilton  was  directed 
to  open  an  air  line  through  the  woods  and  swamps  and  con- 
struct observatories  for  the  use  of  the  signal  corps  to  that 
point.  When  this  important  work  was  completed  he  was 
carried  to  the  hospital,  where  the  ravages  of  typhoid  and 
malarial  fever  soon  reduced  him  to  a  mere  skeleton,  so 
that  he  weighed  but  eighty-five  pounds.  His  friends  gave 
up  all  hope,  and  the  chaplain  had  taken  note  of  the  last 
requests  to  family  and  friends.  The  turningpoint  toward 
recovery,  however,  came  rapidly,  and  when  application  for 
a  leave  of  absence  for  thirty  days  was  made  it  was  returned 
endorsed,  "Request  denied."  The  services  of  this  officer 
were  too  valuable  to  be  spared.  The  attention  of  the  med- 
ical director  of  the  department  having  been  called  to  the 
matter,  that  officer  issued  the  desired  leave,  and  upon  its 
expiration,  September  1st,  1862,  orders  from  Major-General 
Foster  directed  Lieutenant  Hamilton  to  proceed  and  fortify 
Washington,  North  Carolina.    Four  days  after  his  arrival 


124  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

there  the  enemy  made  a  fierce  attack  upon  the  small  garri- 
son. For  several  hours  the  unequal  hand-to-hand  struggle 
continued  in  the  streets  and  severe  losses  occurred  upon 
both  sides.  Lieutenant  Hamilton  upon  this  occasion  dis- 
played the  utmost  coolness  and  bravery,  and  although  the 
enemy  had  taken  a  large  number  of  his  men  prisoners  and 
captured  four  brass  field  pieces*  the  contest  was  continued 
with  the  fifth  gun  until  he  alone  was  left,  twenty-two  men  of 
his  command  having  fallen  around  him  before  the  order 
to  retreat  was  given. 

After  the  battle  active  work  upon  the  fortification  was 
continued  for  several  months,  during  which  Mr.  Hamilton 
gave  all  his  spare  time  in  connection  with  Lieutenant  John 
J.  Lay  of  the  navy,  perfecting  an  experimental  torpedo 
vessel  which,  upon  its  trial,  proved  a  great  success,  and  by 
direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  five  vessels  were 
directed  to  be  built  after  the  plans  developed.  The  first 
was  sent  to  the  fleet  at  the  mouth  of  the  Roanoke  River 
in  Albemarle  Sound,  and  under  the  command  of  Lieu- 
tenant Cushing  destroyed  the  iron-clad  ram  Albemarle,  at 
Plymouth,  North  Carolina.  Orders  were  then  issued  as- 
signing Lieutenant  Hamilton  chief  engineer  to  Major-Gen- 
eral Hunt,  afterwards  the  chief  of  artillery  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac.  That  officer  gave  Hamilton  a  number  of 
men  with  instructions  to  construct  a  fort  upon  the  Neuse 
River,  afterwards  known  as  Fort  Heckman,  but,  owing  to  the 
large  number  of  men  and  government  supplies  at  Washing- 
ton, North  Carolina,  and  the  urgent  necessity  of  completing 
the  works  at  that  point,  Major-General  Palmer,  command- 
ing the  department,  directed  Lieutenant  Hamilton  to  return 
there.  On  March  31,  1863,  Major-General  Foster  arrived 
and  ordered  Lieutenant  Hamilton  to  ascertain  whether  the 
Confederate  forces  of  General  Hill  that  he  expected  would 
soon  attack  the  garrison  had  arrived  with  artillery  at  Red 
Hill,  a  Confederate  outpost.  In  executing  this  order  one 
captain  and  five  privates  of  the  Forty- fourth  Massachusetts 


COLONEL  JOHN  C.  L.   HAMILTON  125 

Volunteers  were  wounded.  The  enemy  had  not  then  arrived 
in  force,  but  did  during  the  night  and  completely  surrounded 
the  town. 

At  daylight,  April  1st,  they  commenced  an  attack  upon 
one  of  our  naval  vessels,  the  Commodore  Hull,  which  unfor- 
tunately was  aground.  Lieutenant  Hamilton  was  ordered 
with  two  small  rifle  cannons  to  take  position  upon  an  ex- 
posed point  on  the  river  and  endeavor  to  draw  the  enemy's 
fire  away  from  the  gunboat,  which  had  been  struck  one 
hundred  and  four  times  and  had  all  her  guns  dismounted. 
The  enemy  were  so  intent  upon  sinking  this  vessel  that  no 
attention  was  paid  to  the  guns  on  shore  until  the  gunboat, 
released  from  her  position  by  the  rising  tide,  started  rapidly 
away.  Then  they  turned  their  fourteen  Whitworth  guns 
against  the  two  and  kept  up  a  constant  fire  until  dark.  Gen- 
eral Foster  directed  Lieutenant  Hamilton  to  construct  a  fort 
at  this  exposed  point  during  the  night,  and  have  siege  guns 
mounted.  This  was  built  and  named  Fort  Hamilton,  in 
honor  of  its  commander.  It  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  that 
memorable  siege  that  lasted  twenty  days. 

Lieutenant  Hamilton's  health  having  become  very  much 
impaired,  he  returned  north,  during  the  draft  riots,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  quelling  the  disturbances  at  Tarry- 
town,  and  after  a  much  needed  rest  returned  to  the  front. 
By  advice  of  his  physicians  he  resided  for  a  considerable 
time  after  the  close  df  the  Rebellion  in  the  thickly  wooded 
pine  tree  sections  of  the  south.  The  later  years  of  his  life 
have  been  spent  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  boyhood  home. 
He  has  contributed  many  interesting  historical  sketches  to 
the  public  press,  and  for  the  past  few  years  has  been  en- 
gaged in  gathering  material  for  a  history  of  Phillips  Manor. 

At  4:30  on  the  morning  of  September  6th,  1862, 
Lieutenant  Hamilton  became  acquainted  with  a  young  lady 
of  Washington,  North  Carolina,  who  had  appealed  to  him, 
in  the  midst  of  a  fierce  hand-to-hand  conflict,  for  protec- 
tion, some  of  the  opposing  military  forces,  separated  in  the 


126  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

heat  of  the  battle  from  their  comrades,  without  permission, 
having  taken  refuge  upon  her  premises  and  in  her  dwelling. 
This  brief  acquaintance  was  rewarded  a  short  time  after- 
ward when  Lieutenant  Hamilton  appealed  to  the  young 
lady  to  provide  a  home  and  shelter  for  an  aged  slave,  he 
having  been  the  trusted  family  servant  of  the  leading  Con- 
federate of  all  that  territory.  This  interview  also  pro- 
cured the  use  of  a  warehouse,  with  forge  and  much  needed 
temporary  supply  of  coal,  which  contributed  toward  the 
construction  of  the  experimental  torpedo  boat  already  men- 
tioned, in  order  to  bridge  over  the  delay  until  charcoal  kilns 
could  be  prepared  and  burned.  These  casual  interviews 
principally  of  a  formal  business  nature,  were,  however, 
destined  to  bring  about  a  permanent  acquaintance.  Lieu- 
tenant Hamilton's  duties  were  of  an  onerous  character, 
requiring  the  use  of  three  horses  during  the  day  and  much 
mental  labor  until  late  at  night.  Being  in  frail  health,  he 
at  length  suddenly  succumbed  and  was  found  in  an  uncon- 
scious state  at  his  quarters.  He  was  taken  to  the  private 
house  of  a  Union  resident  where  he  was  nursed  back  to 
strength,  one  of  his  attendants  being  the  lady  already  men- 
tioned. 

Invitations  announcing  the  marriage  of  Miss  Sarah  F. 
Pugh  to  Lieutenant  Hamilton  on  March  3rd,  1863,  brought 
together  at  the  bride's  home  a  large  number  of  army  and 
naval  officers,  which  the  garrison  supplemented  by  turning 
out  in  review  and  by  giving  them  a  national  salute.  This 
compliment  the  bride,  however,  was  called  upon  to  return 
before  the  close  of  the  month,  by  working  night  and  day  in 
preparing  cartridge  bags,  while  shot  and  shell  came  crash- 
ing all  about  and  through  the  very  room  she  was  em- 
ployed in. 

When  the  heat  of  the  strife  had  subsided,  preparations 
were  made  to  visit  the  North,  but  scarcely  had  foot  been 
set  upon  the  soil  of  the  Empire  State  before  orders  were 


COLONEL  JOHN  C.  L.  HAMILTON  127 

given  to  report  for  military  duty  in  order  to  quell  the  riots 
then  in  progress.  Here  again  cartridge  bags  had  to 
be  made  and  the  military  experience  of  the  bride  and  groom 
gave  the  citizens  of  Tarrytown  their  first  opportunity  to 
witness  the  impromptu  manufacture  of  some  very  dangerous 
ammunition,  which  fortunately  did  much  toward  quelling 
the  riots. 


WYANDANCE,  GRAND  SACHEM  OF  LONG 

ISLAND. 


When  the  Europeans  came  to  Long  Island,  the  Indians, 
who  had  been  greatly  reduced  in  number,  were  divided, 
so  far  as  we  can  learn,  into  thirteen  distinct  tribes.  Each 
of  these  tribes  had  its  sagamore  or  chief.  At  one  time 
they  were  all  united  in  a  confederacy  at  the  head  of  which 
was  a  powerful  chief,  the  Grand  Sachem  of  Paumanacke, 
or  Sewanhacka.     The  Montauks    were    the    ruling    tribe. 

Montauk  was  a  place  of  distinction  by  the  fact  that  it  was 
a  great  burial  place.  The  dead,  particularly  chiefs  and  war- 
riors of  note,  were  brought  from  all  parts  of  the  island  to 
be  buried  there. 

The  Indian  government  was  a  monarchical  despotism.  In 
their  person,  they  were  tall,  of  proud  and  lofty  movement,  of 
active  bodies,  and  as  straight  as  an  arrow.  They  were  war- 
like in  their  habits.  Their  chiefs  and  their  braves  were 
distinguished  above  those  of  the  other  tribes  of  the  island, 
for  prowess  in  the  field,  for  a  recklessness  of  life  in  battle, 
and  for  the  bold  and  daring  onset  with  which,  uttering  their 
war  scream,  they  rushed  upon  their  enemy. 

The  chiefs  of  the  Montauks  were  the  grand  sachems  of 
the  confederacy.  The  most  distinguished  of  these  was 
Wyandance.  (The  name  Wyandance  is  derived  from 
"wyan"  wise;  "dance,"  to  speak  out;  as  a  whole,  "The 
Wise  Speaker.")  He  was  always  the  unwavering  friend 
of  the  whites.    The  New  England  Indians  often  sought  to 

128 


WYANDANCE,  GRAND  SACHEM  OP  LONG  ISLAND   129 

involve  him  in  a  coalition  against  the  new  settlers,  but  he 
never  yielded,  and  uniformly  communicated  their  designs 
£o  Lion  Gardiner,  between  whom  and  himself  entire  con- 
fidence and  friendship  existed. 

Captain  Lion  Gardiner,  as  stated  in  his  family  Bible, 
came  with  his  wife  from  London  to  New  England  in  1635, 
and  dwelt  for  four  years  at  Saybrook  Fort  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Connecticut  River,  he  being  in  command  of  that  fort. 
Here  his  son  David  and  daughter  Mary  were  born,  the 
latter  on  August  30,  1638.  Thereafter  he  purchased  from 
the  Indians  an  island  called  by  them  Manchonock  (by  the 
English,  Isle  of  Wight),  now  known  as  Gardiner's  Island, 
containing  3,500  acres  of  land,  where  another  daughter  was 
born  on  September  14,  1641.  The  price  paid  by  Gardiner 
for  the  island  was  one  large  black  dog,  one  gun,  some  powder 
and  shot,  some  rum  and  a  pair  of  blankets. 

When  Chief  Ninigret  and  his  Narragansett  braves  made 
an  attack  upon  the  Montauks,  and  carried  away  fourteen  of 
their  chief  women,  including  the  daughter  of  Wyandance, 
Captain  Gardiner  interested  himself  in  the  matter  and  had 
the  women  taken  to  the  home  of  Richard  Smith,  at  Wick- 
ford,  now  North  Kingston,  R.  I.,  where  the  Indhn  princess 
remained  until  ransomed  and  restored  to  her  father  by 
Gardiner.  The  old  chief  in  recognition  of  Captain  Gardiner's 
kindness  and  services  in  the  matter  gave  him  a  deed  to  a 
large  tract  of  land  where  Smithtown  is  now  located,  a  copy 
of  which  deed  is  as  follows : 

Deed. 
East  Hampton,  July  14,  1659. 

Bee  it  knowne  unto  all  men,  both  English  and  Indians,  especially 
the  inhabitants  of  Long  Island,  that  I,  Wyandance,  Sachem  of  Pama- 
nack,  with  my  wife  and  sonne  Wyankanbone,  my  only  sonne  and 
heire,  having  deliberately  how  this  twenty  foure  years  wee  have 
been  not  only  acquainted  with  Lyon  Gardiner,  but  from  time  to  time 
have  received  much  kindness  from  him,  and  from  him  not  only,  by 
councell  and  advice,  in  our  prosperity,  but  in  our  extreamity,  when 
we  were  almost  swallowed  up  of  our  enemies,  then  wee  say  hee 
appeared  to  us,  not  only  as  a  ffriend,  but  as  a  ftather,  in  giving  us 
of  his  money  and  goods,  whereby  wee  defended  ourselves,  and  ran- 


130  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

somed  my  Daughter  and  ffriends.  And  wee  say  and  know  that  by  his 
means  wee  had  great  Comfort  and  relief,  from  'the  most  Hondbl° 
of  the  English  Nation  here  about  us.  So  that  seeing  wee  yet  live, 
and  both  of  us  being  now  old,  and  not  that  wee  at  any  time  have 
given  him  anything  to  gratify  his  Love,  care  and  Charge,  wee  have 
nothing  left  that  is  worth  his  acceptance  but  a  Small  Tract  of  Land, 
wch  wee  desire  him  to  accept  of  for  himselfe,  his  heires,  Executo™ 
and  assigns  forever; 

Now  that  it  may  be  known  how  and  where  this  Land  lyeth  on 
Long  Island  wee  say  it  lyeth  between  Huntington  and  Seatancut  the 
westerns  Bounds  being  Cowharbour,  easterly  Actaamunk  and  south- 
erly cros«c  ye  Island  to  the  end  of  ye  great  hollow  or  valley  or  more 
than  half  through  the  Island  southerly,  and  that  this  is  our  free  Act 
ind  Deed  doth  appear  Our  hand  and  Markes  under  written. 
Signed,  sealed  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of 
Richard  Smith 
Thomas  Chatfield 
Thomas  Talmage 

Wyandance  X  his  mark 

Wyankanbone  IX  his  mark 

The  Sachem's  Wife  X  her  mark 

AH  of  the  native  tribes  of  the  Island,  as  far  as  the  Canar- 
ies' territory,  were  at  one  time  tributary,  in  a  greater  or 
less  degree,  to  Poggatacut,  the  elder  brother  of  the  Mon- 
taukett  sachem,  who  resided  on  Shelter  Island,  as  sachem 
over  the  Manhassett  tribe,  and  as  great  sachem  of  all  Long 
Island.  In  1651,  the  Montaukett  sachem,  Wyandance,  suc- 
ceeded his  brother,  then  deceased,  as  great  sachem  of  Long 
Island,  and  had  under  him  from  ten  to  fifteen  sachems, 
with  whom  his  word  was  law,  and  over  whom  he  exercised 
despotic  sway. 

Wyandance  himself  was  tributary  to  the  Pequots,  a  people 
residing  on  the  shores  of  the  Connecticut  and  Mystic  rivers, 
more  fierce,  cruel  and  warlike  than  any  of  the  tribes  around 
them,  and  who  at  one  time  numbered  four  thousand  able 
warriors.  Their  large  canoes  enabled  them  to  transport 
across  the  sound  any  number  of  men,  and  their  frequent 
visits  to  the  island,  overawed  the  tribes,  and  secured  a  con- 
tinuance of  their  dominion. 

At  the  first  settlement  by  the  whites,  the  Montauketts 
were  yet  numerous.    They  raised  great  quantities  of  corn 


WYANDANCE,  GRAND  SACHEM  OF  LONG  ISLAND   131 

and  vegetables ;  their  woods  were  well  stocked  with  animals 
and  birds,  and  their  bays  and  ponds  with  water  fowl. 
Their  canoes,  in  which  they  visited  the  neighboring  islands 
and  the  continent,  as  far  east  as  Boston,  and  as  far  south 
as  New  York,  were  of  the  largest  class ;  and  that  of  Wyan- 
dance,  was  so  large  as  to  require  the  strength  of  seven  or 
eight  men  to  draw  it  from  the  water  upon  the  shore,  and 
on  one  occasion  it  suffered  injury  from  the  waves  at 
Gardiner's  Island  for  want  of  a  sufficient  number  of  persons 
to  place  it  beyond  the  reach  of  the  sea. 

In  the  year  1658,  Wyandance,  Sachem  of  Montaukett, 
plaintiff,  prosecuted  Jeremy  Daily,  defendant,  for  an  in- 
jury done  to  his  "great  cannow."  The  case  was  tried  by 
the  "three  men,"  and  the  Jury  in  the  case  rendered  a 
verdict  for  the  plaintiff,  as  appears  by  the  record,  viz : 

January  25th,  1658. 

Waiandanch,  Sachem  of  Meantaquit,  Pit,  hath  entered  an  action 
of  damage  against  Jeremy  Daily  defendant. 

Mr.  Lion  Gardiner  testifieth  that  hee  was  at  the  Hand  when  my 
son  and  Goodman  Daily  came  over,  and  I  heard  that  the  Great 
Cannow  was  coming,  and  I  went  Down  to  meet  them,  and  made 
a  noise  for  them  that  were  in  the  house,  to  follow  me,  and  I  mett 
my  sonn  and  Goodman  Daily  coming  up,  and  I  asked  them  whie  they 
puled  not  up  the  canow,  and  they  said  it  was  time  enough,  and  I 
called  them  to  goe  to  gett  it  up,  and  we  all  went,  and  could  do 
nothing,  and  then  we  went  again,  and  she  was  full. 

John  Rose  testifieth,  that  when  the  canow  was  brought  into  the 
South  harbor,  my  Brother  Anthony  Waters  and  Goodman  Daily, 
did  mend  the  canow,  by  putting  2  pieces  into  the  side  of  her  and 
upon  that  account  they  were  to  have  the  use  of  her,  when  their  time 
was  out,  to  carrie  over  their  things. 

The  verdict  of  the  Jury — they  find  for  the  Pit.  10s.  Damage, 
and  court  charges. 

The  Court  charges  is  £l  Is  Od. 

Town  records,  Book  No.  2,  p.  65. 

The  decease  of  the  sachem  Poggatacut  was  an  important 
event  with  the  Indians.  His  remains  were  transported  for 
burial  from  Shelter  Island  to  Montauk.  In  removing  the 
body,  the  bearers  rested  the  bier  by  the  side  of  the  road 
leading  from  Sag  Harbor  to  Easthampton,  near  the  three- 
mile  stone,  where  a  small  excavation,  afterwards  known  as 


132  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

the  "Sachem's  Hole,"  was  made  to  designate  the  spot  where 
the  head  rested.  From  that  time  for  more  than  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  years,  this  memorial  remained  as  fresh, 
seemingly,  as  if  but  lately  made.  No  leaf,  nor  stone,  nor 
other  thing,  was  suffered  to  remain  in  it.  The  Montaukett 
tribe,  though  reduced  to  a  pitiful  number  of  some  ten  or 
fifteen  persons,  retained  for  many  years  the  memory  of  this 
event,  and  no  individual  of  them  passed  the  spot  in  his 
wanderings  without  removing  whatever  may  have  fallen 
into  it.  The  place  was  to  them  holy  ground,  and  the  ex- 
hibition of  this  pious  act  does  honor  to  the  finest  feelings 
of  the  human  heart.  The  excavation  was  about  twelve 
inches  in  depth  and  eighteen  in  diameter. 

Wyandance,  at  one  time,  learning  that  Ninicraft  was  upon 
Block  Island,  proceeded  there  with  a  formidable  force  and 
arrived  about  midnight;  when  coming  upon  the  Narragan- 
setts  he  slaughtered  about  thirty,  two  of  whom  were  per- 
sonages of  great  note  and  one  the  nephew  of  the  sachem. 
Subsequently,  Ninicraft  passed  over  to  Montauk,  burned 
the  wigwams,  sacked  the  barns,  destroyed  the  corn  fields, 
killed  many  of  the  principal  warriors  of  the  tribe  and  made 
captive  fourteen  women,  among  whom  was  the  only  daugh- 
ter of  Wyandance.  The  deep  affliction  of  the  father  at  the 
loss  of  his  daughter  can  well  be  imagined,  and  the  ardent 
affection  which  he  maintained  for  his  child  was  in  part 
evidenced  in  the  present  he  made  upon  her  redemption. 

In  1656,  the  Massachusetts  Commissioners  declined  to 
render  any  further  assistance  to  the  Long  Island  Indians, 
and  aid  was  for  a  short  time  given  them  by  the  colonies  of 
Hartford  and  New  Haven.  Wyandance,  in  the  same  year, 
visited  the  Commissioners,  at  Boston,  and  in  consideration 
of  the  distresses  which  had  befallen  him,  obtained  a  remis- 
sion of  the  tribute  which  had  been  exacted  of  him  since  the 
Pequot  war.  He  was  now  left  to  contend  alone  against  a 
vastly  superior  force,  and  the  war  was  continued  between  the 
Narragansetts  and  Montauketts  with  great  cruelty;  but  as 


WYANDANCE,  GRAND  SACHEM  OF  LONG  ISLAND  133 

it  was  confined  to  the  Indians,  few  of  the  events  were  known. 
Roger  Williams  refers  the  trouble  between  these  tribes  to 
the  pride  of  the  rival  sachems:  "He  of  Montaukett  was 
proud  and  foolish, — he  of  Narragansett  was  proud  and 
fierce." 

Upon  arrival  of  Governor  Kieft,  in  1638,  to  take  charge 
of  the  Dutch  settlement  at  New  Amsterdam,  it  was  found 
that  the  settlers  under  two  former  governors  had  been  in 
an  impoverished  condition,  and  on  account  of  their  pitiable 
state,  the  Indians  had  shown  them  great  kindness,  had  taken 
some  to  their  wigwams,  had  supplied  corn,  maize,  dried 
clams,  etc.,  and  taught  them  to  sew  furs  and  make  mocca- 
sins, and  had  given  them  their  daughters  for  companions, 
some  of  whom  had  borne  children. 

The  Dutch,  under  Kieft,  had,  in  1638,  set  up  the  Royal 
Standard  on  a  tree  at  Cow  Bay  to  mark  their  boundary. 
This  was  removed  by  some  English  from  Connecticut  and 
a  fool's  face  substituted.  This  provoked  the  Dutch,  and  in 
the  fight  which  followed  several  Indians  were  killed,  which 
so  exasperated  the  Indians  that  they  resolved  to  annihilate 
the  Dutch  on  Manhattan  Island,  and  word  was  sent  out  to 
the  tribes  to  assemble  all  warriors,  canoes  and  boats  at 
Canarsie  for  that  purpose.  Governor  Kieft,  learning  of 
this,  sent  two  commissioners  to  see  them.  During  the  con- 
ference one  of  the  chiefs  described  the  early  friendly  re- 
lations existing,  as  already  stated,  and  further  said  that  the 
Dutch  by  killing  the  Indians  were  destroying  their  own  off- 
spring and  for  that  reason  they  had  resolved  to  exterminate 
the  entire  settlement,  which  they  came  very  near  doing  in 
1649. 

Wyandance  died  in  1659,  leaving  a  wife,  Wuch-i-kit- 
tau-but,  and  two  children,  one  a  son  named  Weon-com-bone, 
and  a  daughter,  Catoneras,  wife  of  Jan  Cornelius  Van 
Texsel.  It  was  that  daughter  that  Lion  Gardiner  had  ran- 
somed from  captivity. 


134  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

He  appointed  Lion  Gardiner  and  his  son,  David  Gardiner, 
to  be  the  guardians  of  his  son  Weon-com-bone,  as  appears 
from  a  deed  dated  February  11,  A.  D.  1661,  a  copy  of  which 
is  as  follows : 

Copy  Deed  of  1661. 
Be  it  knowne  unto  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  I,  the  Sunk 
Squa  of  Meantuck,  wife  of  Wiandanch,  of  late  years  Deceased, 
and  also  I  Wionkombone,  Sonne  of  the  foresaid  Deceased  partie, 
Sachem  of  Long  Island,  together  with  Pokkatonn,  Chief  Counsellor, 
and  the  rest  of  our  trusty  Counsellors  and  associates,  send  greeting. 
Know  ye,  that  Whereas  there  was  a  full  and  firm  Indenture  made 
between  Mr.  Thomas  Baker,  Mr.  Robert  Bond,  Mr.  Thomas  James, 
Mr.  Lion  Gardiner,  Mr.  John  Mulford,  John  Hand,  Benjamin  Price, 
Together  with  their  associates,  the  Inhabitants  of  Easthampton  upon 
Long  Island,  ye  one  partie,  and  I  sunk  Squa,  and  also  me  Wion- 
kombone, with  the  full  Consent  of  my  Counsellors  and  Servants, 
as  also  of  my  two  Guardians,  left  by  my  deceased  Father,  viz :  Mr. 
Lion  Gardiner  of  Easthampton,  and  Mr.  David  Gardiner,  of  ye  Isle 
of  wight,  yc  other  partie,  in  ye  years  of  or  Lord  One  Thousand 
Six  Hundred  Sixtie,  upon  ye  sixt  day  of  August,  whereby  we  did 
fully  and  firmly  sell  unto  the  said  parties,  our  neck  of  land  called 
Montaukut,  from  sea  to  sea,  from  ye  utmost  end  of  that  neck  East- 
ward called  wompenanit,  to  our  utmost  bounds  westward,  Called 
Napeale,  with  all  priviledges  and  appurtenances  belonging  to  the 
same,  upon  Condition  there  and  then  specified  in  that  foresaid 
Indenture,  and  a  Counterbond,  bearing  ye  same  Date,  signed  and 
sealed  to  us  by  ye  foresaid  parties,  Inhabitants  of  East-Hampton, 
by  virtue  of  which  Counterbond  we  had  free  libertie  granted  if  wee 
see  cause  to  sit  down  again  upon  ye  said  land,  this  being  the  full 
purpose  of  us  the  Sunk  Squa,  of  Wionkombone,  Sachem,  together 
with  our  associates  in  Convenient  time  to  sit  down  to  live  at  ye  said 
Montaukut ;  know  yee  allsoe,  that  whereas  of  late  years,  there  hav- 
ving  beene  sore  Distress  and  Calamities  befallen  us  by  reason  of  ye 
Cruel  opposition  and  Violence  of  or  most  Deadly  Enemies  Ninnicraft, 
Sachem  of  Narhigganset,  whose  Cruelty  hath  proceeded  so  farr 
as  to  take  away  ye  lives  of  many  of  or  Deare  friends  and  relations, 
soe  that  we  were  forced  to  flie  from  ye  said  Montouquit  for  shelter 
to  our  beloved  friends  and  neighbors  of  Easthampton,  whom  wee 
found  to  be  friendly  in  our  distress,  and  whom  wee  must  ever  owne 
and  acknowledge  as  instruments  under  God,  for  ye  preservation  of 
or  lives  and  ye  lives  of  our  Wives  and  Children  to  this  Day,  and  of 
that  Land  of  Montakut  from  ye  hands  of  or  Enemies,  and  since  or 
Coming  amongst  them  ye  relieving  of  us  in  or  Extremities  from 
time  to  time;  and  now  at  last  wee  find  ye  said  Inhabitants  of  East- 
hampton, our  Deliverers,  Cordial,  and  faithfull  in  their  former 
Covenants,  leaving  us  freely  to  or  own  libertie  to  go  or  stay,  being 
ready  to  perform  all  conditions  of  of  ye  foresaid  agreem't.  After 
serious  debate  and  deliberation,  in  Consideration  of  that  love  which 
we  have  and  doe  bear,  unto  these  our  trustie  and  beloved  friends 
of  Easthampton,  upon  our  owne  free  and  Voluntarie  motion,  have 
piven  and  granted,  and  by  these  presents  do  give  and  grant  and 


WYANDANCE,  GRAND  SACHEM  OP  LONG  ISLAND   135 


Confirme  unto  these  our  friends,  ye  Inhabitants  of  Easthampton, 
Excepting  such  as  have  Exempted  themselves  from  ye  former 
agreement;  and  shall  from  this  our  grant,  all  that  piece  or  neck  of 
land  belonging  to  Montakut  Land,  westward  to  a  fresh  pond  in  a 
beach  on  this  side,  Westward  to  that  place  where  the  old  Indian 
ffort  stoode  on  ye  other  side,  Eastward  to  ye  new  fort  that  is  yet 
standing;  the  name  of  ye  pond  being  Quanuntowunk  on  ye  North 
and  konkhonganik  on  ye  south,  together  with  all  priviledges  and 
appurtenances  belonging  to  the  foresaid  land  from  south  to  north, 
To  have  and  to  hold  ye  same  at  free  Commonage,  to  be  ordered 
and  disposed  of  for  the  benefit  of  ye  aforesaid  Inhabitants  of  Eait- 
Hampton,  themselves,  their  heirs,  administrators,  Executors  and 
assigns  forever ;  to  possess  the  same  freely  and  quietly,  without  any 
matter  of  Challenge  clayme  or  demand  of  us,  ye  said  Sunk  Squa 
and  Wionkombone  Sachem,  or  our  associates,  or  of  any  other  per- 
son or  persons  whatsoever,  for  us  or  in  our  name,  or  for  our  cause, 
means  or  procurement.  And  without  any  money  or  other  things 
therefor  to  be  yielded,  paid  or  done  only  for  ye  said  Land,  to  us  or 
our  heires  forever,  and  shall  Justifie  the  possession  of  this  foresaid 
Land,  by  these  said  Inhabitants  of  Easthampton,  against  any  shall 
Questin  their  propertie  in  the  same.  Know  ye  allso,  yt  this  is  not 
only  the  Deed  of  mee,  ye  Sunk  Squa,  and  Wionkombone  Sachem, 
but  allso  the  act  and  Deed  of  all  our  associates  and  subjects,  who 
have  hadd  formerly  any  propertie  in  ye  foresaid  Land  they  having 
manyfested  their  consent  freely  by  a  Voate,  not  one  contradicting 
the  same,  as  allsoe  with  ye  consent  of  Mr.  Lion  Gardiner  and  Mr 
David  Gardiner,  Whome  the  Deceased  Father  left  as  Overseers 
and  Guardians  of  the  aforesaid  Wiankombone  Sachem;  know  yee 
also  yt  for  ye  securing  of  ye  Easterne  part  of  Montaukut  Land, 
which  ye  Indians  are  to  live  upon,  yt  the  Inhabitants  of  ye  foresaid 
Easthampton  shall  from  time  to  time,  keep  up  a  sufficient  fence 
upon  ye  North  side  of  ye  foresaid  pond,  and  the  Indians  are  to 
secure  ye  south  side  of  ye  foresaid  pond,  from  all  cattle,  Dureing  ye 
time  their  Corn  is  upon  the  ground.  And  then  Easthampton  Cattle 
shall  have  Libertie  Eastward,  according  to  former  agreement ;  and 
that  ye  Indians  of  Montaukut  shall  have  libertie  if  they  see  cause 
to  sett  their  Houses  upon  Meantauk  land,  Westward  of  ye  said  oond, 
and  to  have  firewood  from  time  to  time,  on  ye  foresaid  land.  Know 
also,  that  whatever  Connoe  or  Deer  shall  come  a  shore  on  ye  North 
side  on  any  part  of  Meantauk  Land,  Easthampton  Inhabitants  shall 
not  hinder  ye  Sachem  of  them.  And  Whereas  ye  deceased  Sachem 
in  his  life,  freely  gave  to  Mr.  Lion  Gardiner,  and  Mr.  Thomas  James 
what  Whales  should  at  any  time  be  cast  upon  Meantauk  Land,  as 
allso  confirmed  by  me,  Sunk  Squa  and  Wionkombone  Sachem  since, 
and  ye  rest  of  our  associates,  which  not  being  minded  when  former 
agreement  was  made,  I,  Sunk  Squa.  and  allso  I,  Wiankombone 
Sachem,  together  with  our  associates,  doe  freely  give  to  ye  said  Lion 
Gardiner  and  Thomas  James,  to  be  Equally  divided  between  them, 
the  first  Whale  shall  be  cast  upon  Montauket,  to  them  and  their 
heirs  or  assigns  forever,  wee  give  ye  one  halfe  of  all  such  Whales 
as  shall  be  cast  upon  Montakut  land,  and  the  other  half  to  be  Divided 
as  the  said  Inhabitants  of  Easthampton  stand  Engaged  to  us  for 
as  the  said  Inhabitants  of  Easthampton  stand  Engages  to  us  for 
pay  for  that  land  Eastward  of  ye  foresaid  pond,  soe  wee  allso  stand 


136  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

Engaged,  neither  Directly  nor  indirectly,  to  give,  let  or  sell  any  part 
of  that  land,  without  consent  of  Easthampton.  Know  yee  allso,  yt 
if  at  any  time  hereafter,  if  Either  through  sickness  or  warr,  or  any 
other  means,  it  shall  come  to  pass  yt  ye  Indians  belongin  to  Mon- 
takut  be  taken  away,  soe  yt  it  shall  not  bee  safe  for  them  to  Con- 
tinue there,  that  then  those  that  survive  shall  have  libertie  to  come 
to  Easthampton  for  shelter,  and  be  there  provided  of  land,  and  to 
have  the  former  agreement  fulfilled,  and  to  remaine  as  firme  and 
sure,  as  though  there  never  had  been  any  such  act  or  Deed  as  here 
is  specified,  and  that  duringe  lihe  time  of  the  Indians  abode  at  Mon- 
takut,  they  shall  be  careful  of  doing  any  wrong  to  the  English  either 
by  their  owne  persons  or  doggs,  or  any  other  way  whatsoever.  In 
Witness  of  ye  premises  wee  do  here  set  to  our  hands.  Dated  att 
Easthampton,  Feb.  11,  Anno.  Dom.  1661. 

Signed  by  the  marks  of  the  "Sunk  Squa,"  "Wiankombone  Sachem,'. 
and  nine  other  Indians,  in  behalf  of  the  rest. 
Sealed,  Signed  and  Delivered  in  presence  of  us, 

Edward  Codner, 
William    Miller. 

Wyandance  admitted  no  equal  in  the  government  of  his 
people,  but  stood  alone  chief  of  the  tribe.  While  he  exer- 
cised the  sovereignty  as  great  sachem  of  Long  Island, 
though  he  suffered  most  severely  in  the  wars  with  the  Nar- 
ragansetts,  his  proud,  independent  spirit  would  yield  to  no 
terms  derogatory  to  the  prowess  of  his  nation.  In  his  death, 
the  English  lost  a  warm  and  devoted  friend.  His  attach- 
ment for  the  whites,  though  he  sometimes  suffered  from 
them  great  provocation,  never  wavered,  and  the  command- 
ing influence  which  he  possessed  over  the  Indian  tribes  of 
the  island  was  ever  exercised  to  prevent  any  hostile  move- 
ments against  them. 


THE  HAWLEY  FAMILY. 


The  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register, 
Vol.  XXXIII,  April,  1879,  contains  an  address  by  a  Mr. 
Selden,  made  at  Saybrook,  Connecticut,  on  the  22d  of  Aug- 
ust, 1877,  at  a  re-union  of  the  Selden  family,  presided  over 
by  Honorable  Morrison  R.  Waite,  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States,  whose  mother  was  Maria  Selden  Waite.  Mr. 
Selden  had  a  few  spirited,  if  uncomplimentary,  words  to  say 
concerning  the  Hawleys,  to  wit: 

"The  Hawleys,  I  regret  to  say,  as  appears  from  the  'Roll 
of  Battle  Abbey',  came  to  England  from  Normandy  with 
that  wretched  filibustering  crew,  led  by  William  the  Con- 
queror, in  1066.  A  worse  set  of  scoundrels  never  robbed 
a  nation,  or  spoiled  half  so  ruthlessly.  Wholesale  pillagers ! 
Gigantic  bummers!" 

Life  in  England  seemed  to  improve  the  Normans.  At 
least  the  Hawleys  grew  in  grace,  and  one  of  them,  Joseph 
Hawley,  born  about  1600,  came  to  America  from  Derby- 
shire in  1639,  and  established  his  home  in  Connecticut.  He 
married  Katherine  Birdsey  in  1646  and  begat  sons  and 
daughters. 

The  record  of  this  family,  in  so  far  as  the  Romer  family 
is  concerned,  is  as  follows : 
Joseph  Hawley. 

Samuel  Hawley,  first  child  of  Joseph. 
Born,  1647. 

Married,  May  20,  1673,  to  Mary  Thompson. 
Married  2d,  to  Patience  Hubbell,  (widow). 

137 


138  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 


Ephraim  Hawley,  eighth  child  of  Samuel,  Sen. 
Born,  1692. 
Married,  5th  Oct.,  1711,  to  Sarah  Curtiss. 

Josiah  Hawley,  eighth  child  of  Ephraim. 
Born,  1731. 
Married,  8th  Feb..,  1753,  to  Hannah  Warner. 

Lemuel  Hawley,  fifth  child  of  Josiah. 

Minerva  Hawley,  first  child  of  Lemuel. 

Married   Luther   Lockwood,   a  lieutenant  in  American 
Army  in  War  of  1812. 

Caroline  C.  Lockwood,   St.  Albans,  Vt.;  second  child  of  Lieut. 
Luther  Lockwood  and  Minerva  Hawley,  his  wife. 
Born,  May  8,  1811. 

Married,  March  27,  1845,  to  Alexander  Romer. 
Died,  August  28,  1894. 

John  Lockwood   Romer,   lawyer,   Buffalo,   N.  Y.,   first  child   of 
Alexander  Romer  and  Caroline  C.  Lockwood,  his  wife. 
Born,  December  16,  1845. 
Married,  January  25,  1872,  to  Katherine  M.  Taylor. 

Carrie  E.  Romer,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  third  child  of  Alexander  Romer 
and  Caroline  C.  Lockwood,  his  wife. 
Born,  May  9,  1854. 

Married,  February  4,  1876  to  Millard  F.  Windsor. 
Died,  July  3,  1906. 

Ray  Taylor  Romer,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  first  child  of  John  L.  Romer 
and  Katherine  Taylor  Romer,  his  wife. 
Born,  October  10,  1874. 

Florence  E.   Romer,   Buffalo,   N.  Y.;   second  child   of  John  L. 
Romer  and  Katherine  Taylor  Romer,  his  wife. 
Born,  Dec.  21,  1876. 

Married,  Nov.  8,  1899,  to  Rev.  Charles  C.  Albertson, 
D.  D. 

Mabel  Romer,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  third  child  of  John  L.  Romer  and 
Katherine  Taylor  Romer,  his  wife. 
Born,  November  20,  1881. 
Married,  Sept.  5,  1907,  to  Harold  H.  Baker,  M.  D. 

Katherine  Romer  Albertson,  Germantown,  first  child  of  Charles 
C.  Albertson  and  Florence  E.  Romer,  his  wife. 
Born,  October  26,  1900. 

John  Simeon  Baker,  son  of  Harold  H.  Baker  and  Mabel  Romer 
Baker,  his  wife. 

Born,  August  20, 1916. 

Mildred  Windsor,   Buffalo,   N.   Y.,   fourth   child   of   Millard   F. 
Windsor  and  Carrie  E.  Romer,  his  wife. 
Born,  January  4,  1884. 

Ellen  Josephine  Windsor,  Buffalo,  fifth  child  of  Millard  F.  Wind- 
sor and  Carrie  E.  Romer,  his  wife. 
Born,  October  20,  1890. 


VIRGIL  CORYDON  TAYLOR 


THE  TAYLOR  FAMILY. 


The  Taylors,  as  well  as  the  Hawleys,  came  into  England 
with  the  Normans  under  the  guidance  of  William  the  Con- 
queror in  1066. 

Taillefer  was  the  original  form  of  this  name,  but  simpli- 
fied spelling  has  cut  out  letters  here  and  there  and  changed 
others.  An  old  tradition  is  to  the  effect  that  one  of  Wil- 
liams' Knights  was  the  bold  Norman  baron  Taillefer,  who, 
before  the  battle  of  Hastings,  was  so  enthusiastic  at  the 
prospect  of  a  fight  that  he  threw  up  his  sword,  catching  it 
again  on  its  downward  course, 

"Chanting  aloud  the  lusty  strain 
Of  Roland  and  of  Charlemagne." 

He  lost  his  life  in  this  battle,  and  it  is  said  that  William 
the  Conqueror  himself  in  acknowledgment  of  the  baron's 
prowess  bestowed,  as  the  hero  was  dying,  the  motto  which 
appears  on  the  Taylor  coat  of  arms,  "Drink  to  Taillefer, 
boys,  his  heirs  shall  have  a  whole  county,  fee-simple  deeded, 
and  a  motto — Consiquitur  quodcunque  petit — (he  accom- 
plishes what  he  undertakes).  In  fulfillment  of  this  promise 
large  estates  in  Kent  and  other  counties  were  granted  to 
his  family. 

The  Connecticut  branch  of  the  family  is  descended  from 
William  Taylor,  who  was  born  in  Clitheroe,  County  Lan- 
caster, England,  in  1609,  son  of  Thomas  Taylor  of  Clitheroe. 
He  was  baptized  at  Saint  George's,  Canterbury,  left  Graves- 
end,  in  the  "Expedition,"  November  20,  1635.     January  2nd, 

139 


140 


HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 


1649,  he  received  a  grant  of  land  at  Wethersfield,  Connecti- 
cut, where  he  appeared  prior  to  1647.  He  is  in  the  list  of 
Freemen  in  Wethersfield  in  1669.  He  married,  about  1648, 
— ,  and  had  descendants  as  follows: 


Mary  - 
John 

Samuel 

Mary 
William 


b. 

m. 


b. 

m. 

b. 

b. 

m. 


Margaret  b. 
Jonathan  b. 
III. 


July  23,  1649. 

March  2,  1698/9   Sarah   (Hart)    Scone,  daughter  of 
Edmund  Hart  of  Dorchester  and  widow  of  John 
Scone,  d.  Westfield,  August  19,  1684. 

March  2,  1651.    d.  December  12,  1711. 

April  10,  1678,   Sarah    (Cole)    Persons,  daughter   of 
Henry  Cole  and  wid.  John  Persons. 

March  7,  1654/5. 

February  14,  1659. 

Dec.  18,  1693,  Elizabeth  Biggs,  daughter  of  William 
of  Middletown. 

July  15,  1663. 

April  6,  1666. 


SAMUEL  TAYLOR. 

b.     Wethersfield,  Ct.,  Mch.  2,  1651. 
d.     Dec.  12,  1711. 
m.    Wethersfield,  Apr.  10,  1678. 

Sarah  (Cole)  Persons  b.     Middletown,  Ct.,  Oct.  22,  1654. 

d.    Dec.  9,  1712. 

Children,  b.  Wethersfield: 

Samuel      b.    May  10,  1679. 

Sarah        b.     Oct.  20,  1680. 

William     b.    Nov.  16,  1683. 

Mary         b.     Aug.  20,  1685. 

m.    Dec.  28,  1707,  Enoch  Buck. 

John  b.     Feb.  1,  1688;  d.  Haddam,  July  13,  1761. 

m.    1st,  Jan.  15,  1711/2,  Elizabeth  Bailey;  d.  June  6,  1743 ; 
daughter  of  John. 
2nd,     Anne;    d.  June  27,  1759,  age  62. 

March  3,  1693. 

Jan.  26,  1695. 


Margaret  b 
Mabel  b 
IV.    JOHN  TAYLOR 


Elizabeth  Bailey 


b.  Wethersfield,  Ct.,  Feb.  1,  1688. 

d.  Haddam,  July  13,  1761. 

m.  1st  Jan.  15,  1711/12. 

h.  Haddam,  Oct.  24,  1694. 

d.  June  6,  1743,  aged  49. 

Children,  first  three  b.  Wethersfield,  last  nine  in  Middletown: 

Samuel      b.     Nov.  8,  1712. 

m.    Middletown,  June    15,     1735,     Mary     Bevin,  dau. 


THE  TAYLOR   FAMILY 


141 


Thomas  (?) 

Elisha        b. 
m. 

b. 
m. 

b. 
m. 

b. 

m. 


Sarah 

Noadiah 

Kesiah 

William 


March  3,  1715. 

Middletown,  Sept.  20,  1739,  Hannah  Judd,  daughter 
Jonathan. 

April  27,  1716. 
( — )  Francis. 

Middletown,  Oct.  24,  1739,  Abigail  Whitmore. 

Aug.  1,  1720. 

Middletown,  June  21,  1744,  Ezra  Andrews  (?) 

b.      Sept.  2,  1722.     d.  1777. 

m.    1st,  Middletown,  Sept.  25,  1747,  Susanna  Freeman. 

d.  Middletown,  Oct.  12,  1750,  age  26. 
2nd,   Middletown,   Nov.  16,  1750,  Ruth    (Rich)    Hig- 

gins,  daughter  of  Thomas  Rich. 


John  d. 

Elizabeth  b. 
m. 

Daniel       b. 

Joshua       b. 

Benajah    b. 

Justus       b. 
m. 

Hester      b. 
m. 


April  17,  1724. 

Dec.  22,  1725. 

Middletown,  Feb.  1,  1753,  George  Stephens. 

Oct.  27,  1727. 

Feb.   14,   1728/9. 

Feb.  9,  1730/1. 

Dec.  12,  1734J  d.  Sept.  24,  1771. 

Boston,  Oct.  20,  1762,  Elizabeth  Blake  of  Boston. 

Middletown,  Jan.  29, 1756,  Thomas  Snow. 


V.    WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

b. 

d. 
m 
Ruth  (Rich)  Higgins  b. 

d. 


Middletown,  Sept.  2,  1722. 

1777. 

2nd,  Middletown,  Nov.  16,  1750. 

Eastham,  1722. 

Barkhamsted,  Ct.,  June  1,  1813,  age  91. 
(She  was  the  daughter  of  Mercy  Knowles  and  widow  of 
Dea.  Daniel  Higgins,  of  Middletown,  who  died  Oct.,  1749,  who 
married  her  Oct.  27,  1743,  in  Eastham,  Mass. 

Children : 

John  b.    Middletown,  June  22,  1748. 

Mary         b. 

Susannah  b. 

Mercy        b. 

William 


Ozias 


Ruth 


b. 
m. 

b. 
m. 

b. 


New  Hartford,  Ct.,  July  13,  1757;  d.  1835,  aged  78. 
May  11,  1782,  Abigail  Case,  dau.  Daniel,  Jr. 

New  Hartford,  Mch.  19,  1760;  d.  1814. 
Amelia  Humphrey. 

Simsbury,  Dec.  6,  1762. 


142 


HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 


David        b.     Simsbury,  July  7,  1764;  d.  1840. 
m.    1st,  Lucina  Roberts ;  d.  1816. 
2nd,  Marlow  Johnson. 

Isaiah       b.     Simsbury,  June  27,  1768;  d.  1811. 
m.    Zilpah  Case,  dau.  of  Uriah. 

VI.    WILLIAM  TAYLOR,  JR. 

b.  N.  Hartford,  July  13,  1757. 
d.  Barkhamsted,  Mch.  23,  1835. 
m.     May  11,  1782. 

Abigail  Case  b.     Canton,  Ct.,  Jan.  8,  1758. 

d.     Barkhamsted,  June  20,  1830. 

He  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War  from  1775  to  June  10, 
1783,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged  and  then  settled  in 
Barkhamsted. 

His  will  of  Aug.  10,  1827,  and  codicil  of  Oct.  3,  1835,  pro- 
bated Barkhamsted,  Sept.  20,  1836,  names  wife  Abigail,  daugh- 
ters Emma,  Abba  and  Camilla;  sons  Virgil,  Hector  and  Will- 
iam, and  granddaughters  Eliza  and  Nancy  Taylor. 

Children,  b.  Simsbury: 

William     b.     May  15,  1785,  rem.  to  Jefferson,  N.  Y.,  1814  (?)     d. 
Stamford,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  19,  1861. 
m.    1st,  Sept.  22,  1807,  Nancy  Wickham  of  Canton,  Ct. 
d.  June  2,  1812. 
2nd,  Stamford,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  12,  1815,  Nancy  Rickey. 

d.  Oct.  9,  1844,  age  54,  dau.  Thomas. 
3rd,  Stamford,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  15,  1850,  Eunice  Malli- 
son,  d.  Nov.  12,  1882,  age  76,  dau.  of  Roswell. 

Abigail      b.     Mch.  19,  1787;  d.  Middletown,  Oct.  3,  1855. 
m.    Mch.  9,  1812,  Nathaniel  Bacon. 

Camilla      b.     Nov.  27,  1788;  d.  Jan.  29,  1870;  buried  Harpersfield 
Centre,  N.  Y. 
xn.    Dec.  31,  1807,  Phineas  Stratton;  d.  Aug.  29,  1868, 
age  82. 

Virgil       b.     Dec.  10,  1790 ;  d.  Dec.  16,  1861. 

m.    Barkhamsted,   Sept.   2,   1812,   Electa   Gilbert,  daugh- 
ter of  Asa  of  Hartford. 

George      b.     June  25,  1793 ;  killed  by  a  tree  Nov.  11,  1804. 

Steuben     b.     June  2,   1795;   d.   unmarried,   Barkhamsted,   Oct.  22, 
1824.     (Brown,  1819). 

Emma        b.     March  22,  1797.    d.  July  10,  1886. 

m.    Barkhamsted,  Oct.  20,  1831,  Evits  Carter,  son  Noah. 

Hector      b.     April  7,  1799;  d.  Cleveland,  O.,  Nov.  17,  1874. 
m.    Sept.  4,  1822,  Polly  Carter,  dau.  Noah. 


THE  TAYLOR  FAMILY  143 

Genealogy  of  the  Taylor  Family  in  Descent  From 
Elder  William  Brewster 


William  Brewster  was  born  in  Scrooby,  England,  in  1560. 
He  immigrated  to  America  in  1620,  being  one  of  the  com- 
pany of  Pilgrims  who  came  over  in  the  "Mayflower."  He 
drafted  the  compact  which  forty-one  of  the  Pilgrims  signed 
on  the  21st  day  of  November,  1620,  in  the  cabin  of  the 
"Mayflower",  before  landing,  the  purpose  of  which,  it  is 
recited,  was  "For  our  better  ordering  and  preservation  and 
furtherance  of  the  ends  aforesaid,  and  by  virtue  thereof, 
to  enact,  constitute  and  frame  (laws)  unto  which  we  prom- 
ise all  due  submission  and  obedience."  This  document  is 
accounted  the  earliest  written  constitution  in  history.  Elder 
Brewster  was  one  of  the  prominent  founders  of  Plymouth 
Colony,  and  is  regarded  by  many  as  pre-eminently  the  leader 
of  the  Pilgrims.  He  married  Mary ,  who  died  in  Plym- 
outh in  1627.  Elder  Brewster  himself  died  at  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts,  April  16,  1644. 

GENERATION  I. 

PATIENCE  BREWSTER:  Daughter  of  William  Brewster; 
married  Thomas  Prince,  who  was  born  in  England  in  1601;  died 
in  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  March  29,  1673.  He  was  Governor 
of  the  Colony  of  Plymouth  in  1637-1638  and  1657-1673;  Member  of 
Council  of  War,  and  Commissioner  of  the  United  Colonies.  He 
came  over  in  the  "Fortune"  in  1621. 

GENERATION  II. 

MERCY  PRINCE:  Daughter  of  Patience  Brewster  Prince; 
married  the  14th  day  of  February,  1649,  Major  John  Freeman,  who 
was  born  in  England  in  1627;  died  in  Massachusetts,  1718.  He 
was  a  captain  in  King  Philip's  War  in  1675;  Deputy  to  General 
Court  in  1685;  and  First  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
after  the  union  of  Plymouth  with  Massachusetts.  He  came  over 
in  the  "Abigail"  in  1635. 

GENERATION  III. 

MERCY  FREEMAN:  Daughter  of  Mercy  Prince  Freeman; 
born  July,  1659;  married  Samuel  Knowles,  of  Eastham,  Decem- 
ber, 1679. 


144  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

GENERATION  IV. 

MERCY  KNOWLES:  Daughter  of  Mercy  Freeman  Knowles; 
born  September  13,  1681;  married  Thomas  Rich  of  Eastham,  July 
23,  1701. 

GENERATION  V. 

RUTH  RICH :  Daughter  of  Mercy  Knowles  Rich ;  born  in 
Eastham,  1722;  died  in  Barkhamsted,  Connecticut,  1813;  married, 
first,  Deacon  Daniel  Higgins,  October  27,  1743,  and  married,  second, 
William  Taylor,  November  16,  1750. 

GENERATION  VI. 

WILLIAM  TAYLOR,  Junior:  Son  of  William  and  Ruth  Rich 
Higgins  Taylor ;  born  1757 ;  married  Abigail  Case ;  died  March  23, 
1835. 

GENERATION  VII. 

HECTOR  TAYLOR :  Son  of  William  Taylor,  Jr.,  and  Abigail 
Case;  born  April  7,  1799;  married  Polly  Carter,  daughter  of  Noah 
Carter,  September  4,  1822 ;  died  November  17,  1874. 

EMMA  TAYLOR:  Daughter  of  William  Taylor,  Jr.,  and  Abi- 
gail Case ;  born  March  22,  1797 ;  married  Evits  Carter,  son  of  Noah 
Carter,  October  20,  1831. 

GENERATION  VIII. 
Children  of  Hector  and  Polly  Carter  Taylor: 

(a)  VIRGIL  CORYDON  TAYLOR:  Born  August  4,  1838; 
married  Margaret  M.  Sackett,  June  23,  1863. 

(b)  ANN  TAYLOR:  Born  November  9,  1834;  married  An- 
drew J.  Foster,  January  29,  1860;  died  June  23,  1906,  without  is- 
sue surviving. 

(c)  KATHERINE  M.TAYLOR:  Born  January  17,  1845 ;  mar- 
ried John  L.  Romer,  January  25,  1872;  died  July  16,  1915. 

GENERATION  IX. 

(a)  Children  of  Virgil  Corydon  Taylor  and  Margaret  Sackett 
Taylor. 

HARRIET  E.  TAYLOR:  Born  December  25,  1864;  married 
Doctor  Frank  E.  Bunts,  October  29,  1888. 

KATHERINE  TAYLOR:  Born  February  3,  1866;  married, 
first,  L.  Dudley  Dodge,  Setember  19,  1888 ;  married,  second,  Richard 
O.  Carter,  November  21,  1904. 

GRACE  M.  TAYLOR:  Born  September  6,  1872;  married  John 
B.  Cochran,  October  26,  1892. 

ALEXANDER  S.  TAYLOR:  Born  April  3,  1869;  married 
Clara  F.  Law,  May  16,  1894. 

(b)  Children  of  John  L.  and  Katherine  Taylor  Romer: 
RAY  TAYLOR  ROMER:    Born  October  10,  1874. 
FLORENCE  E.  ROMER:     Born  December  21,  1876;  married 

Reverend  Charles  C.  Albertson,  D.D.,  November  8,  1899. 

MABEL  ROMER:  Born  November  20,  1881;  married  Harold 
H.  Baker,  M.D.,  September  5,  1907. 


HECTOR  TAYLOR  AND  POLLY  CARTER  HIS  WIFE 


ANN  TAYLOR  FOSTER 


THE   TAYLOR   FAMILY  145 


GENERATION  X. 

(a)  KATHERINE  R.  ALBERTSON:  Daughter  of  Reverend 
Charles  C  Albertson  and  Florence  Romer  Albertson;  born  October 
26,  1900. 

(b)  JOHN  SIMEON  BAKER:  Son  of  Harold  H.  and  Mabel 
Romer  Baker,  born  August  20,  1916. 

(c)  MARGARET  DODGE:  Daughter  of  L.  Dudley  Dodge 
and  Katherine  Taylor,  his  wife;  born  September  2,  18G9 ;  married 
Levi  A.  Johnson,  October  24,  1911. 

(d)  WILSON  DODGE:  Son  of  L.  Dudley  Dodge  and  Kath- 
erine Taylor  Dodge;  born  March  16,  1898. 

(e)  CLARA  T.  BUNTS:  Daughter  of  Doctor  Frank  E.  and 
Harriet  Taylor  Bunts;  born  March  9,  1890;  married  Edward  C. 
Dauost,  April  24,  1912. 

(f)  ALEXANDER  T.  BUNTS:  Son  of  Doctor  Frank  and 
Harriet  Taylor  Bunts;  born  March  9,  1897. 

(g)  VIRGIL  CORYDON  TAYLOR:  Son  of  Alexander  and 
Clara  Law  Taylor ;  born  December  16,  1895. 

(h)  HARRIET  T.  COCHRAN:  Daughter  of  John  B.  and 
Grace  Taylor  Cochran;  born  October  16,  1895. 

GENERATION  XL 

(a)  FRANCES  B.  DAUOST:  Daughter  of  Edward  C.  and 
Clara  Bunts  Dauost;  born  February  12,  1913. 

(b)  EDWARD  B.  DAUOST:  Son  of  Edward  C.  and  Clara 
Bunts  Dauost;  born  July  11,  1915. 

(c)  CLARK  JOHNSON :  Son  of  Levi  A.  and  Margaret  Dodge 
Johnson;  born  January  29,  1913. 


A  Brief  Account  of  William  Taylor,  Jr., 
In  The  American  Revolution. 

When  the  first  news  reached  him  that  "the  shot  heard 
around  the  world"  had  been  fired  by  the  "embattled  farm- 
ers," at  Lexington,  he,  then  scarcely  eighteen  years  old, 
enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  company  of  Captain  Amos  Will- 
cox,  of  Simsbury,  Connecticut,  in  what  was  known  as  the 
Lexington  Alarm,  about  April  21,  1775 ;  but  as  there  were 
more  troops  than  the  colony  could  then  equip  for  service, 
they  were  discharged  at  the  end  of  three  days. 

Arrangements  for  the  equipment  df  the  troops  having 
been  meanwhile  effected,  he  enlisted  again  as  a  private  in 


146  HISTORICAL   SKETCHES 

Captain  Abel  Pettibone's  company,  Second  Continental  Regi- 
ment, and  served  from  May  5,  1775,  to  December  18,  fol- 
lowing. The  various  companies  did  not  wait  to  be  formed 
into  a  regiment,  but  marched  to  Lexington  separately.  The 
regiment  was  in  or  about  Boston  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  portions  of  it  participating  in  that  engage- 
ment. 

After  the  battle  of  White  Plains,  in  October,  1776,  he 

enlisted  as  a  private  for  the  third  time  in  Captain  Ozias  Mar- 
vin's company,  Ninth  Militia  Regiment,  General  Wooster's 
brigade,  and  served  from  October  24th  to  December  25th, 
along  the  Westchester  County  border. 

On  January  10,  1777,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  for  the 
fourth  time,  for  the  term  of  the  war,  in  Capt.  Walbridge's 
company,  Colonel  Charles  Webb's  regiment,  in  the  "Conti- 
nental Line" ;  but  on  the  army  roll  he  was  reported  and  paid 
as  sergeant  from  February  10, 1777,  to  January  1,  1780.  He 
served  during  the  following  summer  and  fall  along  the  Hud- 
son River,  under  the  command  of  General  Israel  Putnam. 

On  November  14,  1777,  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  join 
General  Washington's  army,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  on  De- 
cember 8,  was  engaged  in  the  sharp  action  at  Whitemarsh, 
where  a  number  of  its  officers  and  men  were  killed  and 
wounded.  He  wintered  at  Valley  Forge,  1777-78,  and 
fought  June  28,  following,  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth.  He 
was  afterwards  assigned  to  the  Second  Connecticut  Brigade, 
General  Huntington,  at  White  Plains,  and  wintered  1778-79 
with  the  division  at  Redding.  He  served  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Hudson  with  General  Heath's  wing,  during  the  oper- 
ations of  1779,  and  was  engaged  under  General  Anthony 
Wayne  in  the  storming  of  Stony  Point,  July  15,  1779, 
wintering  1779-80  at  Morristown,  where  he  served  on  the 
outposts.  His  name  was  borne  on  the  muster  rolls  of  the 
army  up  to  and  including  December,  1780,  but  the  records, 
which  were  incomplete,  do  not  show  the  nature  and  extent 
of  his  services  between  that  time  and  December,  1782.    In 


THE   TAYLOR   FAMILY  147 

January,  1783,  he  was  commissioned  as  sergeant  in  the  Third 
Connecticut  Regiment,  Colonel  Samuel  B.  Webb,  to  rank  as 
such  from  April  1,  1780.  He  was  honorably  discharged 
June  10,  1783. 

Upon  the  passage  of  the  Act  authorizing  the  payment  of 
pensions  to  Revolutionary  soldiers  who  had  rendered  gallant 
and  meritorious  services  in  the  war,  he  made  application  for 
a  pension,  April  6,  1819,  which  was  allowed  from  May  25th 
of  that  year  at  the  rate  of  $8  per  month,  and  it  was  paid 
at  the  Connecticut  agency.  His  residence  at  the  time  of 
making  his  application  was  Barkhamsted,  Connecticut, 
whence  he  had  removed  from  Simsbury  shortly  after  the 
war,  and  where  he  died  March  23,  1835,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-eight  years. 


Death  of  Hector  Taylor. 

On  yesterday  morning,  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age, 
Hector  Taylor  died  at  the  residence  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  A.  J. 
Foster,  No.  262  Prospect  Street,  and  the  funeral  occurs  at  11  A.  M. 
on  next  Friday. 

The  deceased  was  born  April  7,  1799,  in  Canton,  Hartford  Count)', 
Connecticut,  and  was  married  September  4,  1822,  to  Miss  Polly 
Carter,  with  whom  he  spent  forty-three  years  of  happy  married 
life.  Three  children  were  born  unto  them,  all  of  whom  are  living. 
An  adopted  daughter  is  also  living  and  now  residing  in  Illinois.  Mr. 
Taylor  removed  from  Connecticut  to  Ohio  in  1832,  and  settled  in 
Twinsburg,  Summit  County.  He  was  for  fifty-eight  years  an  active 
business  man,  ever  foremost  in  all  movements  of  a  progressive  na- 
ture calculated  to  advance  the  interests  and  well-being  of  those 
around  him  and  the  community  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  a  man 
of  peculiarly  broad  and  benevolent  character,  ready  to  do  good,  and 
in  the  long  years  of  a  varied  and  eventful  life  he  maintained  a 
strictly  Christian  character.  For  fifty-four  years  he  has  preserved 
an  active  church  membership,  being  a  member  at  the  time  of  his 
decease  of  the  East  Cleveland  Congregational  Church. 

In  the  years  1837-8,  Mr.  Taylor  lived  in  what  is  now  a  portion  of 
this  city  known  as  East  Madison  Avenue,  then  a  sparsely  settled 
district,  the  now  prosperous  city  of  Cleveland  being  then  a  mere 
village.  His  wife  dying  in  1867,  he  again  removed  to  this  city,  and 
making  it  his  permanent  home,  resided  with  a  son  and  daughter. 

During  eight  months  of  illness,  an  illness  of  a  peculiarly  aggra- 
vated and  distressing  character,  no  word  of  complaint  or  repining 
ever  passed  his  lips.  He  endured  to  the  end  and  has  gone  to  his 
eternal  reward. — Cleveland  Leader,  Nov.  18,  1874. 


148  HISTORICAL    SKETCHES 

Mrs.  John  L.  Romer. 

Katherine  Taylor,  daughter  of  Hector  and  Polly  Carter  Taylor, 
was  born  in  Twinsburg,  O.,  January  17,  1845,  and  died  in  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  July  16,  1915. 

She  was  married  January  25,  1872,  to  Mr.  John  Lockwood  Romer, 
who,  with  three  children,  Mrs.  Charles  C.  Albertson,  of  Brooklyn; 
Mrs.  Harold  H.  Baker,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y. ;  and  Ray  T.  Romer,  of 
Lancaster,  N.  Y.,  and  one  brother,  Virgil  C.  Taylor,  of  Cleveland, 

survive  her. 

Mrs.  Romer  came  of  New  England  ancestry,  her  father,  Hector 

Taylor,  being  descended  in  the  seventh  generation  from  Elder  Will- 
iam Brewster,  of  the  Mayflower  company.  Her  parents  moved 
from  Barkhamsted,  Conn.,  to  the  Western  Reserve  in  1826.  In  her 
young  womanhood  she  became  a  member  of  the  Euclid  Avenue 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Cleveland,  but  since  1886,  when  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Romer  became  residents  of  Buffalo,  she  had  been  identified 
with  the  Delaware  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  that 
city.  She  was  an  active  worker  in  the  women's  societies  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  during  the  years  of  Mr.  Romer's  superintendency 
of  the  Bible  School  and  presidency  of  the  Methodist  Union,  dis- 
pensed hospitality  with  dignity  and  grace.  Her  pastors  and  their 
families,  and  those  of  the  resident  bishops  in  Buffalo,  have  reason 
to  remember  her  courtesy  and  thoughtfulness. 

For  fifteen  years  Mrs.  Romer  had  been  in  such  precarious  health 
as  to  forbid  her  attendance  at  the  services  of  the  church.  The  last 
two  years  were  marked  with  keen  suffering.  Yet  she  was  not 
without  comfort  in  the  faith  that  "through  the  close  bars  of  pain 
that  shut  us  from  our  kind,  God  stoopeth  down  to  make  us  one  with 
Him."  Physicians,  nurses  and  friends  who  watched  her  as  her 
path  dipped  low  and  long  toward  the  valley  of  shadow  all  bear 
witness  to  the  rare  and  saintly  qualities  of  her  character.  Radiant 
in  girlhood;  beautiful  in  young  womanhood;  winsome  in  maturity; 
patient  when  pain's  furnace  fires  were  kindled,  her  life  was  rich 
with  love  and  grace. 

The  funeral  services  were  held  at  the  family  residence  on  Lin- 
wood  Avenue,  Buffalo,  Sunday  afternoon,  Julv  18,  and  were  con- 
ducted by  her  pastor,  Dr.  Philip  Frick,  and  C.  C.  Albertson.  Burial 
was  in  Forest  Lawn. — New  York  Christian  Advocate. 


FOREST  LAWN  CEMETERY 


THE  CARTER  FAMILY. 


The  founder  of  the  New  England  branch  of  the  Carter 
family  was  Robert  Carter,  who  died  November  6th,  1751, 
at  Killingworth,  Conn.  His  children  were  Benjamin,  Wil- 
liam, John,  Samuel,  Mary,  Nathaniel  and  Joseph. 

William  was  born  at  Killingworth,  Conn.,  and  on  May  8th,  1773, 
married  Ann  Yale,  daughter  of  Captain  Theophilus  Yale.  Of  this 
marriage  there  was  born  one  son,  Thaddeus,  on  April  8th,  1735, 
who  married  Lucy  Andrews. 

This  son  Thaddeus  had  one  son,  Noah  Andrews  Carter,  born  at 
Wallingford,  Conn.,  in  1777,  who  in  1798  married  Lydia  Gaylord. 

The  children  of  this  marriage  were:  Chloe,  born  October  22, 
1799,  who  married  Asa  Upton;  Thaddeus  Andrews,  born  March  24, 
1802,  who  married,  first,  Esther  Marshall,  May  12,  1828,  and  second, 
Margaret  McKisson,  Dec.  29,  1845;  Polly,  born  August  24,  1804, 
who  married  Hector  Taylor,  Sept.  4,  1822;  Evits,  born  Dec.  24, 
1806,  who  married  Emma  Taylor;  Hiram,  born  January  24,  1810, 
who  married  Eliza  Taylor;  Joseph  Henry,  born  November  1st, 
1812 ;  married  Nancy  Taylor ;  Caroline,  born  May  22,  1815 ;  married 
Edwin  Richardson. 

Ruth  Rich,  a  descendant  of  Elder  William  Brewster,  married, 
first,  Deacon  Daniel  Higgins,  and  after  his  death,  November  16, 
1750,  married  William  Taylor. 

GENERATION  VI.  William  Taylor,  Jr.,  son  of  William  Taylor 
and  Ruth  Rich  Higgins  his  wife,  was  born  July  13,  1757,  in  New 
Hartford,  Conn.;  married  May  11,  1782,  Abigail  Case,  born  Janu- 
ary 8,  1758,  Canton,  Conn.  He  died  March  23,  1835,  she  June  20, 
1830,  Barkhamstead. 

GENERATION  VII.  Emma  Taylor,  born  March  22,  1797,  died 
July  10,  1886 ;  married  October  20,  1831,  Evits  Carter,  born  Decem- 
ber 24,  1806;  died  February  17,  1887. 

GENERATION  VIII.  Walter  S.  Carter,  born  February  24,  1833, 
married,  first,  October  8,  1855,  Marie  Antoinette  Smith,  born  Janu- 
ary 25,  1836,  died  January  2,  1865,  and  (third)  December  1,  1870, 
Harriet  Cook,  born  December  4,  1848. 

149 


150  HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 

GENERATION  IX.  Colin  Smith  Carter,  Emma  Carter  Dickin- 
son, Antoinette  Carter  Hughes,  Walter  Frederick  Carter,  Leslie 
Taylor  Carter. 

GENERATION  X.  Howard  Dickinson,  Burgess  Dickinson,  Ed- 
win Dickinson,  Antoinette  Dickinson,  Charles  Evans  Hughes,  Helen 
Hughes,  Colin  Esterbrook  Carter,  Philip  Van  Gelder  Carter. 

Evits  Carter,  who  married  Emma  Taylor,  had  two  chil- 
dren— Walter  S.  Carter  and  Chloe  Carter  Lee. 

Walter  S.  Carter's  children  and  grand-children  are  named 
under  above  titles,  Generation  IX  and  Generation  X. 

The  children  of  Chloe  Carter  Lee  are  Gerald  Lee,  Chris- 
tabel  Lee,  Grace  Lee  and  Theodore  Lee. 

Caroline  Carter  Richardson,  wife  of  Edwin  Richardson, 
had  six  children,  viz. :  Julian  Richardson,  Carrie  Richardson 
Mooney,  Rose  Richardson  Murfey  and  Daniel  Richardson, 
William  Richardson    and  John  Richardson. 

Julian  married  and  had  four  children :  Gertrude,  Edwin, 
John  and  May. 

Rose  married  and  had  one  son,  Edwin. 

Polly  Carter,  wife  of  Hector  Taylor,  had  three  children : 
Ann  Taylor  Foster,  Virgil  Corydon  Taylor  and  Katherine 
Taylor  Romer.  The  names  of  her  grand-children  and  great- 
grand-children  appear  in  the  records  of  the  Taylor  and 
Romer  families. 

One  hundred  and  sixty  Carters  had  graduated  from 
Oxford  before  1886;  several  had  received  the  honor  of 
knighthood,  and  the  family  arms  belonged  to  almost  all  of 
the  names  in  southern,  and  especially  southwestern  Eng- 
land. Their  description  is  two  lions  combattant,  sable; 
crest,  a  talbot  passant  on  a  mural  crown ;  motto,  sub  libertate 
quientem. 

William  Wallace  Lee  in  his  address  at  the  Centennial 
Celebration  of  Barkhamsted,  where  many  of  the  early 
Taylors  and  Carters  lived,  said: 

"William  Taylor  reared  a  large  family,  of  which  Emma 
(Mrs.  Evits  Carter)  is  the  sole  survivor.  Some  years  later 
came  Noah  Carter,  and  settled  in  the  Southwest  District. 


THE  CARTER  FAMILY  i51 

Between  this  family  and  the  family  of  William  Taylor  a 
curious  relationship  exists.  William  Taylor  had  sons- 
William,  Virgil,  Hector  and  a  daughter  Emma ;  Noah  Carter 
had  sons— Evits,  Andrews,  Hiram,  Joseph  and  a  daughter 
Polly.  Evits  Carter  married  Emma  Taylor ;  Hiram  married 
a  daughter  of  William  Taylor,  Jr. ;  Joseph  married  a  daugh- 
ter of  Virgil  Taylor;  Hector  Taylor  married  Polly  Carter. 
Now  I  doubt  if  there  is  a  Barkhamsted  boy  or  girl  well 
enough  educated  to  tell  the  exact  degree  of  kin  between  the 
posterity,  for  all  of  these  families  reared  children." 


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